‘The Hive’ forms and pollinates ‘Act Up Wekiva’

ORLANDO, FL – On Wednesday, February 6th, a multi-generational, interdisciplinary group of students, professors, NGOs, community leaders and interested citizens came together for the first annual “The Hive Orlando“, a new monthly Think Tank initiative for Community Action led by IDEAS For Us, at the famous collaborative workplace, Urban ReThink.

Photos taken by The Hive participants, Ricardo Williams and Vic Hurlburt

The event included an social icebreaker about ‘The Great Transition‘; facilitated in-depth discussion of Global challenges within the Pillars of Energy, Water, Food, Waste and Ecology; and coordinated interactive break-out sessions discussing Local solutions, while organizing focused tactics to take ACTION in the community the following month in March 2013.

Ecology became the Pillar of choice by an overwhelming majority of responses and interest, formulating the development of an ‘Ecological Restoration initiative’ at the Wekiva River Basin for the 1st action event.  Various groups broke out and discussed stakeholders, event activities, logistics, marketing and other critical parts of developing a community-based activity.

On the 3rd weekend of March 2013, we will teaming up with our local partners, Florida Conservation Coalition (FCC), Friends of Wekiva River (FOWR) and others to host a community event aimed at taking action to preserve Wekiva. Some action ideas including a guided nature hike, trash clean-up, and invasive species removal; adding value to the upcoming “Speak Up Wekiva“ rally happening on February 16th, 2013! CLICK the flyer below for more info on the event.

For those interested in joining us for the Wekiva Action project in March, please email: Clay@ideasforus.org

‘The Hive’ launches to Pollinate your IDEAS

‘The Hive’ logo and flyer design by: Stephanie Wrong

‘IDEAS For Us’ is very excited to be launching a brand new initiative in Central Florida called “The HIVE: A Speakeasy for Innovation”

Each month, IDEAS will team up with our partners at Urban ReThink to host a Think/Do Tank aimed at bringing local chapters, students, professionals, community leaders and interested citizens together to develop community actions plans aimed at advancing sustainability throughout Central Florida.

 

On February 6th at 7:00pm EST, we will be hosting the inaugural event at UR in Orlando, Florida, discussing and inviting everyone in join in to pollinate your IDEAS!

Please SHARE and Find out more info HERE.

IDEAS For Us

IDEAS-Uganda Ignites Their Community!

In December 2012, the IDEAS-Uganda team coordinated a Community Sports Gala Competition and Youth Environmental Awareness event in Bewra, Uganda, Africa.

This attracted over seven hundred (700) youths in and out of school from the five constituencies of Kasese district, which comprised of six teams for the one day galla. The galla was attended by IDEAS-UGANDA Management team represented by Mr. Adidas Masereka, Mr. Isaac Sinamakosa and Mainuka Paddy, media personnel and the District youths councilor, Hon Baluku Geoffrey Lubangula.

Throughout the sporting events, IDEAS-Uganda set up “Innovation Think Tanks” to discuss various challenges being faced in the Kaseme district of Uganda, including Waste management, Recycling and Ecosystem restorations.  In addition, youth gathered to share solutions and establish commitments to sustainable action in 2013.

   

MAJOR OUTPUTS OF THE ACTIVITY:
• Popularizing IDEAS-UGANDA in the district through the big number of youths (700+) that turned up and an FM radio presenter.

• Winning support of the District woman member of Parliament and the district youths councilor who promised to immediately schedule a partnership meeting between IDEAS-UGANDA and the King of the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu(Obr), Bishops of Catholics and Anglicans in the district and Kasese district local government leaders about strategies of enhancing IDEAS work in the district.

• The youths leaders appreciated the work of IDEAS-UGANDA and requested IDEAS to link them to youths groups in other districts of Uganda and the world at large for a strengthened campaign.

Adidas Masereka
IDEAS-Uganada

White House says ‘Happy Holidays’ to IDEAS

For the 2nd year, the U.S. White House and Obama family sends the IDEAS movement a holiday card, showing their appreciation for our efforts in advancing a culture of sustainability on our campuses and in our communities.

Happy Holidays from IDEAS For Us!

IDEAS Reaches New Milestone of Over 10,000 Fans!

DECEMBER 10, 2012 — IDEAS has recently hit a new milestone in our social media presence and achieved our ultimate goal for 2012 of gaining over 10,000 fans on the main Facebook page!!

IDEAS For Us

Binghamton Chapter Attracts Attention to the Movement

BU Leader gets lecture about upcoming events at the IDEAS general meeting

BINGHAMTON, NY – This semester, IDEAS for Binghamton is running three initiatives which will engage, empower, and educate youth in the Northeast. By raising awareness for these initiatives and creating a high demand for environmental change on the University, the chapter was able to attract the University’s newspaper, the Binghamton Pipe Dream, to write articles about all of them throughout the semester. This is a milestone for the sustainability movement at the university, and a sign that the movement is gaining ground.

The first article was written about CYCLE, which aims to create a semi-closed loop food system on campus. The second article was written about the Take Back the Tap campaign, aimed to end the sale of bottled water at the University. The last article was written about the BU Bike Advocacy program, which will create a bike sharing program on campus and a safe biking path through the surrounding community.

To read the articles, check out the links below.

• CYCLE Article
• Take Back the Tap Article
• BU Bike Advocacy Article

Keep a look out for more updates from the Binghamton team in the coming months!

Jacob Robison
Northern Region Director, IDEAS For Us

250+ Students at Coral Reef High School commit to Sustainability

In preparation for the new years, the Coral Reef High School chapter of IDEAS in Miami, Florida — created a school-wide awareness campaign to encourage students to pledge for sustainability. Students used recycled paper to create a Giant tree, with limbs representing various different topics, such as Green Buildings, Healthy Foods, and Recycling. Over 250 students wrote their name on a individual leaf and pledged to help bring a culture of sustainability to Coral Reef, filling the tree with commitments to action!

   

Over the next 2 months, students will begin working together in groups to conceptualize ideas, create action plans and work on implementing various projects to Green the school, from establishing Recycling Bins throughout the court-yard, to obtaining an official ENERGY STAR certification!

Follow Coral Reef on their Facebook Page and stay tuned for more updates of the projects as they unfold in 2013!

IDEAS For Us

Youth participate in ‘Global Discussion on Climate Change’ in preparation the UN Cop18

As the 2012 UN Conference on Climate Change (COP18) approaches fast, IDEAS For UN decided to host an International youth discussion on the critical topic of  Climate Change, sharing stories of our local impacts, challenges facing our communities, and youth-led climate solutions to achieve a better future for all.

On Saturday, November 17th, a total of 17 youth from 7 countries — Including Pakistan, Netherlands, USA, Costa Rica, Ghana, Nepal and more! — came together for this important Virtual meeting; discussing Carbon abatement alternatives, Business incentives to reduce carbon footprint; and the Climate Justice movement helping those being disproportionately affected, such as countries throughout Africa.

Max Tau, representative from the Netherlands, discusses his work at Capgemini and how Sustainability is integrated into supply-chain management to help companies reach their carbon reduction goals

Over the next few weeks, leaders will be developing a Policy Paper for Youth representatives at the COP18 event in Doha, Qatar.  The goal will be to share our experience, our vision, and our voice to others on behalf of the IDEAS movement.

For those interested in viewing the discussion, please visit our link HERE.

IDEAS For Us

Something to Believe In: Official MGCY Declaration @ Rio+20

This video was created to celebrate the International Youth Day 2012, as a striking and timeless reminder of our commitment to the future we want. By articulating these truths we celebrated a generation’s will, perseverance, and resolve to see that vision through.

The Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) is the voice of young people in the UN sustainability negotiations, active participants in the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development. Through negotiating, demonstrating, and participating in local initiatives, we shared our vision of the future and the actions needed to achieve this.

This is our declaration.

IDEAS For Us

World We Want 2015

In 2000, world leaders promised to halve extreme poverty by 2015 with a global plan called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Thanks to millions of people taking action and a massive global effort, we have already made real progress. The number of people living in poverty has fallen to less than half of its 1990 level. Over two billion people gained access to better drinking water. The share of slum dwellers living in cities fell, improving the lives of at least 100 million people!

The World We Want 2015 will gather the priorities of people from every corner of the world and help build a collective vision that will be used directly by the United Nations and World Leaders to plan a new development agenda launching in 2015, one that is based on the aspirations of all citizens!

JOIN THE GLOBAL CONVERSATION: WorldWeWant2015.org