The Bi-weekly Video Award (BVA) is announced Sunday nights every other week. These videos are stamped with my "Guaranteed to Inspire or Inform" tag. Check out GlobalSocialJustice.net for more information.
What do you get when you mix a Saturday Night Live hit skit, a "flash" mob, and young adults looking to spread a message? The answer is Powershift - the newest BVA installment.
Powershift is a global grassroots organization that lobbies politicians to take energy policy and alternative energy seriously. Their website and organizational model breed camaraderie through group portals and videos while allowing easy access to locate and contact local government representatives. You may be thinking, "Can students make a difference?" The department of energy (DOE) seems to think so.
In October, Newsweek featured a piece on the DOE biannual Solar Decathlon contest. Teams of college students build "a fully functional house powered by nothing but the sun". The grading rubric includes architecture, market viability, home entertainment and seven other categories. The underlying objective is best explained by Energy Secretary Steven Chu. In the piece he stresses the competition as a method of challenging the coming generation to innovate, collaborate and grow a green industrial revolution. They are stakeholders not bystanders.
Policy, grassroots advocacy and education are three pillars to achieve the much anticipated "new" economy. The DOE's contest is an example of expanding the application of lessons learned for college students. It is a valuable academic tool. Powershift is another example. It connects students across the globe to gear up for energy change. It has revved up the campaign in light of the fast approaching Copenhagen Climate Conference. December 9th the world will know if leaders are serious about climate change. If they want to feel the pulse of the younger generation or if they want a quick laugh at the lengths young adults will do to spread a message, I would recommend this video. It starts off slow, but gets
For showing how comedy and art can bring attention to a global issue, for organizing and motivating over 100 young adults to dance in public, and for getting young adults involved in the democratic process - this BVA goes to Powershift.
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