Campaign Boot Camp To Elect Young Climate Leaders by Youth Voices USA

Dear Youth Voices USA, Thank you very much for your proposal on the “Youth action on climate change” contest. Your proposal was among the 15 which the Fellows pre-selected for the Judges but unfortunately, it didn’t make it to the semi-finals. The ambition and creativity of it were particularly appreciated by the Judges. It is quite evident that the US political system is not currently functioning in favor of strong climate action and the accession of young people to elected offices would be a breeze of fresh air. However, the Judges noted that the current state of play (important role of money and bitter political divides on climate science) was probably too detrimental for this proposal to have an impact. More problematic, it feels uncertain that even young elected candidates would make climate change their top priority and if so, they could be “drowned” among the majority. The proposal did not address these shortcomings convincingly enough. Young people in the US can still weigh in on the public debate, but insider politics is probably not the best way. Thanks again for your contribution, and best of luck in participating in future CoLab contests or taking this idea to other avenues! Best, Antoine on behalf of the “Youth action” fellows