YOUth Decide ’09

Have your say on what YOU think the Australian government should do about climate change. Because the truth of the matter is climate change is affecting the poorest countries the worst.

From September the 14th to the 18th anyone between the ages of 12-29 can vote online. We will be opening up G5 for Senior School students at lunchtime. For Middle School this will be integrated into English or humanities classes.

Get voting! 😀

http://youthdecide.com.au/

Vgen Summer Challenge

Vision Generation has set the Summer Challenge. There will be prizes for those who have demonstrated that they have completed this four part summer challenge.

Download & print this Summer Challege HERE

Challenge # 1: Meet your Member of Parliament
at their local office & inform them about the issues & the campaign

• Talk to them about:
• human trafficking
• the Don’t Trade Lives campaign and
  your thoughts about the Australian chocolate industry’s inadequate response to the call to end child labour in cocoa harvesting.

Ensure your MP knows that Asia has by far the highest level of individuals trafficked and enslaved, and that those trafficked for labour purposes greatly outweighs those that are trafficked into the sex trade. Tell him/her that you want to see Australia take the lead to end trafficking in our region.

REMINDER: for those of you who met an MP during Trek, please also send that MP a personalised letter of thanks ASAP and cc a copy to us. Include a World Vision’s “Smiles” gift that you have purchased for them as a gesture of thanks. This will work best as purely a thanks and not to ask them for anything!

Challenge # 2 : Help spread the word!
(the Watch Forward Challenge!)

Hundreds of VGenners and tens of thousands of Australians have been shocked to learn the reality of how their chocolate is made: with the aid of child labour and exploitation. But not everyone knows about this yet.

• Watch the clip ‘Big Chocolate – Bubbles of Nothing @ youtube.com/worldvisionstir or on the DTL website
• Share this clip via email to 50 friends and/or colleagues and through your Facebook account
• Challenge them to share your friends to forward it to 50 people they know!

Challenge # 3 : Speak out – Demand Ethical Chocolate

What to do:

• make two phone calls to different stores each week from now until end December. (For telephone numbers of leading supermarkets and department stores, refer to the Action page at DontTradeLives.com.au.)
• Tell your local department store and supermarkets that you’d buy ethical chocolate if they stocked it; and
• Tell your supermarkets that you’d love to see them using Fairtrade cocoa in their own home brands.

Challenge #4: Contact 10 chocolate boutiques

This can be in person or by mail and encourage them to switch to ethical chocolate.
For chocolate boutiques to promote themselves as truly stylish, they require more than fashionability, they must have integrity and quality.

For contact details of your local chocolate boutiques, visit their websites:

• Koko Black www.kokoblack.com.au
• Max Brenner www.maxbrenner.com.au
• San Churro www.sanchurro.com.au
• The Chocolate Room www.thechocolateroom.com.au

Send all your stories and succeses to donttradelives@vgen.org & they will add your story to http://www.vgen.blogspot.com/!

– Source: http://vgen.blogspot.com/2008/12/vgen-summer-challenge.html

GetStirred New Member Night

‘GetStirred’ New Member Night
Date: Thursday 4th September
Time: 6pm-8pm
Venue: World Vision HQ, 1 Vision Drive, Burwood East
Cost: $5 for dinner

Join other new VGen members for an inspiring info night where you will…

• Get to know like-minded others
• Hear about World Vision’s work in Australia and overseas
• Learn about our campaigns like Don’t Trade Lives
• Find out how YOU can act against poverty!

Download the flyer for more info
RSVP to vic@vgen.org
(you can request GetStirred online if you’re unable to attend)

Be there!