Blog

My name is Annika and I’m one of the five new assets of Wake-Up Call (or four and a half, since Calle has been a part of the organization before). I went on the Wake Up Call train together with the new recruits Maja, Valter and Mia last weekend and already Tuesday morning I got to go on my first gig.

I set the alarm for 5.15 am and got up to go to work before sunrise (first time this season). Sven and I got on a train to Sölvesborg and talked constantly (over some magic vanilla buns) during the two hour ride there, going through the workshop we were gonna have with 170 8th and 9th graders, what to expect and what to focus on. Initially, the students were to see a play by the theater group Teater Barbara, which brought up the environmental issues and climate change that we humans have imposed on our planet. Followingly, Sven and I were to inspire the students in smaller groups and help them formulate ideas for a better world and help them develop those ideas into projects able to be carried out.

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Hi! My name is Maja and what you’re now reading is my debut blog post at Wake-Up Call’s website.

Oleg and Sven, founders of Wake-Up Call that is now expanding.

It has been an awesome weekend, a couple of very exciting and entertaining days. When I entered Wake-Up Call’s office this Saturday morning Sven and Oleg were there, obviously, and Calle, which I already knew. Except for them there were three, to me by then, strangers – Valter, Mia and Annika – who just a few hours later proved to be in possession of some really funny and cool personalities and above all a characteristic drive and an infectious energy.

The point is that, after this weekend they have not only become my friends – but also my colleagues. For during those two days the four and a half of us (since Calle has already been involved for a little while) got to discuss ourselves, where we are and where we are heading, explore our qualities as a group and identify our shared visions. With this as ground we were then introduced in Wake Up Call, as a company and as a platform for engagement, and together we got down to the incredibly exciting task of developing the future of Wake-Up Call – our future to be!

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The end of August was a busy time for Wake Up Call. The co-directors packed their bags and left Sweden to help build capacity of the youth climate movements of Northern Europe and the former USSR. Sven went to Berlin and Oleg to Istanbul. The training sessions in Germany and Turkey were organised by our friends and partners 350.org and Wake Up Call was invited to be a part of the facilitators teams for both events.

In Turkey Oleg spent a week with three co-founders of 350.org and 36 young leaders from 14 post-Communist countries of the Eastern European / Central Asian region at the 350 Youth Climate Leadership Camp. Training sessions in climate science and politics, public narrative, new media, strategical campaign planning, building alliances and partnerships – it was a very busy week for all the participants and trainers. Still, there was also time to chill on the beach and swim in the sea, to play frisbee and beach volleyball. By the end of the week the three dozens “graduates” all grew into the leading edge of the much strengthened youth climate movement of that vast region. Already a week after the training many of them were busy organising their own workshops for their countries’ youth and planning numerous events on 10/10/10.

Meanwhile, Sven was busy working and partying in Berlin over the weekend. The two-day event there was a big success too. 21 young leaders from all across Northern Europe participated in exercises in story telling, campaigning, project management, media training, and social media strategies. Besides Wake Up Call and 350.org the event was co-facilitated by our friends from the UKYCC (Britain) and Nest (Germany).

Swedish delegation to Berlin, which consisted of university students, graduates of the Wake Up Squad leadership programme and representatives from Green Teens and YIP, prepared a clothes-swapping action ‘Ditch ‘n’ Switch’ in Karlskrona, Blekinge, that will happen on the 10^th of October as part of the Global Work Party events around the world. Wake Up Call arranged a pitching competition, which was won by the proud Swedish team. Their award was €100 in cash to help finance their initiative.

And now Oleg and Sven are back in Sweden and organising a “Power Weekend” for five newest partners that will be helping to move Wake Up Call forward and upward this autumn, to reach new heights and reach out to thousands young people in Sweden. Sounds exciting? You bet!

Wake Up Call has been working as agents for change long before we founded the enterprise in early 2009, and we’ve been doing so as part of ”Civil Society”.

”Civil Society” is a sector that works on problems that traditional business and policy makes are failing to solve. NGOs, Educational Institutions, Think Tanks, Activist Groups, and Social Entrepreneurs can all be placed in this huge and diverse chunk of society.

If added up, the founders of Wake Up Call has been working full time as parts of civil society for 10 years. From pushing political agendas in European Parliament and the UN climate process, to educating and inspiring thousands of people at schools, businesses and organizations throughout Europe. No wonder we’ve been asked to talk about the role of Civil Society in the fight for sustainability.
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Vacations are over and Sweden is productive again. Lovely!

The summer months in Sweden are filled with events for people interested in sustainability and entrepreneurship and Wake Up Call’s network has grown from great to greater. Sven is now a member of YEOS and the HUB, two excellent networks of entrepreneurs.

YEOS is short for Young Entrepreneurs of Sweden. It is an exclusive network that builds relationships between the most promising entrepreneurs in Sweden, 18-30 years of age. Imagine the collective power of this network 20 years from now.

The HUB is a global network of 4000 social entrepreneurs. It is also a working space concept, which gives us a desk and a meeting space in 27 cities on all continents except Australia. Want to meet us in Stockholm, London, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Cairo, or Mumbai?

We have very exciting things coming up this year and next. Watch this space.

Here’s some great news for the European youth climate movement. Together with 350.org, UKYCC and Nest, we’re creating a bunch of new international climate leaders. We’re gathering 40 young climate actors from across Europe in Berlin on August 28^th–29^th for trainings in global campaigning, social entrepreneurship and traditional and social media tactics. Nine of these leaders will be from Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland) and Wake Up Call will hand-pick them. This is your opportunity to pick up the skills you need from successful professionals and current movement leaders. Going home you will be a 10/10/10 ambassador determined to make 350 Global Work Party on October 10^th as widespread as possible. Indicate and motivate your interest to sven@wakeupcall.se and maybe we’ll see you in Berlin in the end of August!

 Check the full invitation to the 
1^st Climate Action Workshop Europe