Who are we?

XR Youth began at the end of Feb 2019, out of a need to create a platform within XR and the world, for the young person’s voice. It had become apparent that for many in XR, taking these risks to liberty were energised by the passion to ‘do it for the children’. The fact that seemed to not be getting attention was that the young people in XR that people were fighting for have a voice of their own. Something that is important that we understand there are young people within XR, but XR Youth is to advocate youth voice. If you are in XR Youth you are not just in it because you are young and in XR but because you see and know the integral part that youth play in bringing around change. XR Youth consists of those born after 1990 - a generation that has never experienced a stable climate and who’s lives will be wholly affected by the climate and ecological crisis.

Born from Extinction Rebellion - very much separate

We are a separate movement to extinction rebellion (XR), and don’t always agree with everything they do - on a local level many XRY groups cooperate heavily with XR groups in the area but they are still very much autonomous - so why the hell do we exist?

Because this is our world as much as anyone’s, and we refuse to do nothing as it’s destroyed. The youth are ignored within conventional politics yet around the world the young are some of the most affected by the policies of today. We must claim our own platform to create change - social progress is driven by the young and that is a power that must be wielded for the sake of our futures.

Being our own, autonomous group of people under 30 allows this to happen - we can create youth led structures of decision making and action which empower us to realise how important our voices are.

More than just climate change

As a movement we stand for more than just opposing climate change - we campaign against environmental destruction in all it’s forms, whilst recognising that systemic change is essential to making meaningful progress. This is not just a problem for science to fix - but one caused by centuries of exploitative design patterns which need to be rewritten.

These are systems of human design which have intentionally been created the way that they are, new technology cannot fix a system built on the exploitation of the planet - we must strive for a new blueprint to base our relationship with the earth on, free from endless growth and consumerism.

The game is rigged, it’s destroying our planet, we need to rewrite the rulebook.

We have the power to force change, as young people creating communities we hold the ability to radically affect the future of our world - though an ever more connected world our actions locally affect the world, changing opinions, providing hope, redefining what’s possible when we reject business as usual. The effects of this crisis are not being felt in this country to the extent as they are among those towards the equator without the money to pretend this isn’t happening.

It is not a question of when will this be a problem - but a question of when will we see that change is necessary.

Global solidarity

Working with groups across the world as equals and being guided by their wisdom in our actions

As a collection of local groups across the UK, we stand shoulder to shoulder with those across the world being affected already - acting locally to have an effect globally. As a country, we’re one of the biggest environmental destroyers, both in the greenhouse gasses we’ve released and the destruction we’ve introduced to the rest of the world though colonialism. We have a duty to rewrite that relationship and move away from dominating other countries, both politically and economically. As such, we hold solidarity with those fighting to protect their lives across the globe, not as a superior, but an equal. (sounds a bit kumbiya (not how you spell it) also need to nudge international solidarity again they were meant to write this)

if you are interested in joining the Youth International Solidarity Working group, or are a group outside of the UK who would like to work with them - you can get in touch here

Decentralised: Local and Global

XRYUK is decentralised, that is to say no group or individual is in charge, we are made up of local groups who make decisions for themselves under the name XRYouth. to find out more about our structure, click here TODO

This is a map of all the XRY local groups, get in touch with whichever group is closest to you or, if there are no groups in your area, we encourage you to create one! Guidance for starting a local group can be found here

as well as local groups, there is a national support team, which helps support regonal efforts with the few things that can’t be fully decentralised - such as national social media accounts or ensuring this website stays operational - this group has no more authority within the movement than any other group as is by no means in charge. If you are a member of a local group and are interested in helping with the national support team, you can register your interest here TODO

Resources and graphics

Anyone is allowed to use graphics produced by XR Youth for the purposes of environment protecting without the need to ask for permission - feel free to use any of the graphics here in a non-commercial way

We also have an amazing dedicated graphics team who are more than happy to create graphics for any actions you may be doing, simply get in touch with them here and let them know what you want creating.