Our previously named “Missing Voices Campaign'' was clumsy. At its core, the campaign is a fundraiser looking to tackle the structural inequity of attendance to the United Nations climate conferences. The campaign sought to raise awareness around the barriers for MAPA (Most Affected People & Areas) attendance to such events, and take action to help, in some small way, towards reducing those barriers. Unfortunately, when taken on it’s own, our choice of name and hashtag for this campaign did not send an empowering message.
While our intentions were good, intent does not absolve us of responsibility for the impact our choice of words created. Which is why we are deeply sorry for any pain, hurt, anger, or discomfort that these words created. This is why we are changing the name of the campaign to correct this mistake.
The campaign and hashtag will now be #GlobalVoicesToGlasgow!
We are incredibly grateful to Fridays For Future International who reached out privately to educate us. It was exceptionally generous of them to give up their time and emotional energy to help us learn and be better. This is collaborative campaigning at its finest.
For the amazing individuals and groups who have supported our campaign so far you probably have some questions. Hopefully we can answer some of them.
I’ve been taking part in the campaign, do I need to stop?
No. At its core this is a fundraising campaign. The more money we can raise the more change we can make to the attendance of the UN climate conference in Glasgow, November 2021. All miles and money accumulated will still count towards our goals! The campaign length has been extended until June 18th, and the hashtag has changed to #GlobalVoicesToGlasgow so please use this new hashtag when you communicate about the challenge.
Will the campaign be extended?
Yes. Our initial plan was to make the campaign last a month. However, the goal is to raise money. We hope that prolonging the campaign, with its new name, will only increase the impact of the fundraiser. The new end date will be XX.
Will my money go to the same place?
Yes, the money raised will be going directly, and fully, to global south and indigenous groups to support their attendance to COP26. Given the uncertain nature of the event (due to the coronavirus, and concern about vaccination barriers) this money will likely support travel costs, accommodation costs, or access to internet and resources. However, we do not want to dictate how this money should be best spent and so will be working closely with MAPA youth in the lead up to the conference to see how these funds can best be allocated.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch using the hello@ukycc.org account!