STEP FOUR: Find other people and organise stuff!
Other people are great…
A good next step is to find like-minded students near you, whether Medsiners or not, and get together. If you find some people, then keep in touch with them, talk to them, discuss the science and the solutions with them, lament the failure of the global system to tackle climate change and inspire each other to take part in the solutions – whatever you do, do it together.
Ok, so finding other people - how do you do it?
Do the easy things first. Send a short, snappy paragraph to your local Medsin mailing list and your university bulletin, along the lines of
“my name is...I’m interested in this...it’s an important issue because...I want to get a group of students together to work on this issue.... contact me if you’re interested too”.
Then, with or without your respondents from your adverts, do something a little bit more challenging: organise your first event. If your aim is to educate, inspire and get people together to act, then a standard speaker event, or possibly a film screening or debate, is your best bet. Probably best done through your local Medsin, but that’s a university specific decision.
Publicity is key: if you're going to the trouble of organising an event, try to have an attractive poster and a facebook event, get the word out early through multiple channels, and have a big push in the week and days before the event. Choose time and place carefully to try to avoid clashes!
Make sure that your speaker knows that – they’ll probably already be on your wavelength so get them to plug student activity. You don’t need a well known speaker, or someone incredible, or someone who knows everything about climate change – what you do need is someone who can speak confidently about climate change and health, about some solutions, and – as a bonus – about how important health professional action against climate change is.
Then, after they’ve said their part and answered any questions, it’s your turn to jump in and spend some time (~5-10 minutes) presenting your case for getting a group of students together to work on the campaign – powerpoint isn’t necessary; always remember that. Speak passionately and honestly – that’s the key. Gather names and contact details then all go (speaker included!) for a coffee or drink or something where you can have a good chat with your future team. Set a date, time and place for your first meeting – there you can get planning. And let us in the national committe know who's part of your team and what they're interested in so we can keep them posted on relevant stuff.
A note from experience: don’t get worn out putting on endless events, nor disheartened if no-one replies to your adverts or wants to get more involved than turn up to an event, if anyone turns up at all, or they don’t turn up to the meeting. This isn’t to put you off, it’s just to reassure you: if no-one else cares, don’t worry! Just carry on and try not to let it bother you. We’ve all been at that point where you just feel weary of organising events or trying to get other people involved, it’s just a part of the process.
The other place to discover other people, of course, is other universities and medical schools. It is indescribably useful and beneficial to feel like you are part of a wider network. You may not meet for a while and emails may have no faces until you do, but knowing the other people involved across the country is inspiring.
A good next step is to find like-minded students near you, whether Medsiners or not, and get together. If you find some people, then keep in touch with them, talk to them, discuss the science and the solutions with them, lament the failure of the global system to tackle climate change and inspire each other to take part in the solutions – whatever you do, do it together.
Ok, so finding other people - how do you do it?
Do the easy things first. Send a short, snappy paragraph to your local Medsin mailing list and your university bulletin, along the lines of
“my name is...I’m interested in this...it’s an important issue because...I want to get a group of students together to work on this issue.... contact me if you’re interested too”.
Then, with or without your respondents from your adverts, do something a little bit more challenging: organise your first event. If your aim is to educate, inspire and get people together to act, then a standard speaker event, or possibly a film screening or debate, is your best bet. Probably best done through your local Medsin, but that’s a university specific decision.
Publicity is key: if you're going to the trouble of organising an event, try to have an attractive poster and a facebook event, get the word out early through multiple channels, and have a big push in the week and days before the event. Choose time and place carefully to try to avoid clashes!
- The best starting point is to set up a local facebook group (and possibly twitter); they do require a commitment to inviting people and posting things so perhaps set one up when you know there’s enough capacity there.
- You can also use the main Healthy Planet facebook and twitter accounts to share anything that’s nationally relevant with others, just email [email protected] We may also be able to help with speaker ideas, but remember – always remember for any event, in fact – that there is a purpose to the event, to educate, inspire and get together to act.
Make sure that your speaker knows that – they’ll probably already be on your wavelength so get them to plug student activity. You don’t need a well known speaker, or someone incredible, or someone who knows everything about climate change – what you do need is someone who can speak confidently about climate change and health, about some solutions, and – as a bonus – about how important health professional action against climate change is.
Then, after they’ve said their part and answered any questions, it’s your turn to jump in and spend some time (~5-10 minutes) presenting your case for getting a group of students together to work on the campaign – powerpoint isn’t necessary; always remember that. Speak passionately and honestly – that’s the key. Gather names and contact details then all go (speaker included!) for a coffee or drink or something where you can have a good chat with your future team. Set a date, time and place for your first meeting – there you can get planning. And let us in the national committe know who's part of your team and what they're interested in so we can keep them posted on relevant stuff.
A note from experience: don’t get worn out putting on endless events, nor disheartened if no-one replies to your adverts or wants to get more involved than turn up to an event, if anyone turns up at all, or they don’t turn up to the meeting. This isn’t to put you off, it’s just to reassure you: if no-one else cares, don’t worry! Just carry on and try not to let it bother you. We’ve all been at that point where you just feel weary of organising events or trying to get other people involved, it’s just a part of the process.
The other place to discover other people, of course, is other universities and medical schools. It is indescribably useful and beneficial to feel like you are part of a wider network. You may not meet for a while and emails may have no faces until you do, but knowing the other people involved across the country is inspiring.
