Anna Rose

Anna Rose (born 14 April 1983) is an Australian author, activist and environmentalist. She co-founded the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) in late 2006 and was, until recently, the Chair of the AYCC board. In 2012 she co-starred in an ABC documentary, I Can Change Your Mind on Climate Change^[1] and released her first full-length book, Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic.^[2] Rose currently sits on the Board of Directors of Farmers for Climate Action.^[3]

Early life and education

Rose was born in Newcastle, NSW, and graduated from Merewether High School in 2001. She won a scholarship with Distinction to the University of Sydney and graduated in 2008 with degrees in Law (1st class honours) and Arts. During her studies, she was part of the Department of Geography’s South East Asian field school along the Mekong Delta, and in her final year she went on exchange to Cornell University in upstate New York.^[4] Rose received the Young Alumni Award for Achievement in 2009.^[5]

Career

Student activism

Rose was elected Environment Officer of the Students Representative Council and was spokesperson for the organisation Sustainability at Sydney Uni.^[6] In 2005 and 2006 she helped to lead a student campaign for the University to take action to reduce carbon emissions. The campaign involved the first student referendum in 27 years. 90% of votes called on the University to switch from coal-fired to renewable electricity. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that in response, the University Vice-Chancellor agreed to invest $1 million in renewable energy research.

In 2004 Anna was elected an editor of Honi Soit, the weekly student newspaper.^[7] In 2005 Rose deferred her studies for a year upon election as National Environment Officer for the National Union of Students as a member of the Australian Student Environment Network and the associated Grassroots Left faction. At the end of 2005 Rose was selected to attend the United Nations Kyoto Protocol climate change negotiations in Montreal.^[8]

In 2007 Rose went on exchange to Cornell Law School and while living in the United States represented young Australians at the Secretary General's Special Conference on Climate Change at the United Nations in New York on 24 September.^[9] She also volunteered on the Obama campaign in the New Hampshire Primary.^[8]

Australian Youth Climate Coalition

In 2006, Rose founded the Australian Youth Climate Coalition by bringing together representatives from all major Australian youth-run organisations in Melbourne for a three-day founding summit. There, the first steering committee of the AYCC was formed, comprising Simon Sheikh (who went on to become National Director of GetUp!), Amanda McKenzie (who went on to co-direct the AYCC with Anna), Nick Moraitis (who later founded strategy and communications consultancy Make Believe), Ben Margetts (who went on to work with Avaaz), Tom Dawkins (who went on to found StartSomeGood), and Michelle Yang.

Rose was AYCC’s first national director, studying law while starting up the new organisation. After she returned from the United States, Amanda McKenzie and Rose shared the leadership of the organisation as Co-Directors.

Rose’s early work with the AYCC included setting up the organisational fundamentals, growing the membership, and representing the organisation in the media and at public events. For example, she spoke alongside the Dalai Lama at Perth’s Burswood Dome.^[10]

Rose was instrumental in two Australian Youth Climate Coalition projects in 2009. Power Shift, Australia’s first youth climate summit, brought together 1500 of the AYCC’s most active members together at the University of Western Sydney for three days of training and workshops in campaigning and grassroots organising.^[11] The final day culminated in a flash mob dance on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

Two months after Power Shift, the AYCC organised the world’s first national youth vote on climate change. The AYCC campaign, called Youth Decide, mobilised 37,432 young people aged 12–29 to vote for the future world they want to inherit. Young people, who voted either online or at one of over 300 local voting events held around the country, were presented with three options for the future based on various climate change mitigation scenarios.^[12] The campaign included a concert in Melbourne’s Federation Square attended by 4,500 young people and starring AYCC ambassadors The Cat Empire and Blue King Brown. In December 2009 Rose helped lead a delegation of young Australians and Pacific islanders to the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen.

Consultant and freelance writer

After leaving as National Director of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Anna worked as a Senior Campaigning Specialist with Sydney-based communications and strategy consultancy Make Believe, where she remains an Associate.^[13] Part of her work included communications strategy on the successful Make History Melbourne campaign to elect Adam Bandt, Australia's first Green to be elected to the lower house in a general election. Rose also coordinated web and social media strategy for Independent Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore.

In 2009 Anna wrote a chapter on environment and sustainability for the book The Future, By Us published by Hardie Grant Books. Rose has published articles in The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, Vogue Australia and other publications.^[14][15][16]

Rose left Make Believe in late 2011 to be part of the ABC Television documentary I Can Change Your Mind About... Climate,^[17] write her book, and pursue other climate change projects.

Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of A Climate Sceptic

In 2012 Melbourne University Press published Rose’s book Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic.^[2] The book is the story of Anna's journey around the world to change the mind of former Finance Minister Nick Minchin on the science of climate change.

The book has received favourable reviews by bestselling authors Bill McKibben and Peter Fitzsimmons, scientists Tim Flannery and Matthew England, former leader of the Liberal Party John Hewson, CEO of World Vision Australia Tim Costello, and lead singer of the Australian band Blue King Brown, Natalie Pa'apa'a.^[18]

Later in 2012, Rose also toured the book around Australia on the 'Madlands Book Tour'. The national tour was managed by later Young Environmentalist of the Year Isaac Astill, and visited over 50 towns and cities around Australia.^[19]

Academic

Rose is a course convenor and lecturer at the Australian National University, for the undergraduate course 'Leadership & Influence'.^[20] 'Leadership & Influence' is one of three Vice Chancellor's Courses, which are high-level, inter-disciplinary subjects involving active discovery and research.^[21]

Awards and honours

Rose’s awards and honours include:

• 2007-2008 - International Youth Foundation Fellowship^[22]
• 2008 - Delegate, Prime Minister’s Australia 2020 Summit^[23]
• 2008-2009 - Australian Leadership Award from the Australian Davos Connection
• 2009 - University of Sydney Young Alumni Award for Achievement^[5]
• 2010 - Sydney Morning Herald ‘100 Most Influential Sydneysiders’^[4]
• 2010 - Sierra Club Earthcare Award for International Environmental Protection^[24]
• 2011 - Sydney Morning Herald ‘50 Most Powerful People in NSW’
• 2011 - The Australian/ IBM Expert Contributor, Shaping Our Future Series^[25]

Personal life

Rose lives in Canberra with her husband Simon Sheikh.

Publications

• Madlands, a journey into the climate fight, 2012, Melbourne University Press

See also

Climate change in literature

References

External links

• Public comment on the ABC TV program I can change your mind about climate change Sydney Morning Herald, 28 April 2012.
• How people resist changing their minds 'The Conversation', 27 April 2012.