Freya Alexander

For those (few) of you who don’t already know me, I’m Freya Alexander and I’m in my second year at Oxford Brookes. From the moment I saw the People and Planet stall at Freshers’ Fair, I knew it was the society for me. I’ve loved every minute of my involvement - I’ve learnt so much in the past year and a half and met some amazing people. I now know that campaigning on the environment and poverty will always be a part of my life, and I’d love to end up working for a charity. After my first year, I decided I wanted to be more involved in People and Planet, so since September I have been the president of the Brookes society and a regional organiser for the South West. We’ve had a successful term at Brookes, and after a long Buy Right campaign (with naked photos, fair-trade washing lines, stalls, petitions and the support of Keith Taylor MEP) our university is now joining the WRC. Although I’ve been involved with other charities and organisations since I started at university, especially the anti-cuts movement, People and Planet is always my priority. I think I’d be a good candidate for the MC because of my dedication to People and Planet, and my determination to do the best I can. I’m particularly interested in strengthening links between the groups (regionally and nationally), and I just really enjoy meeting new people and making activism fun and engaging for students. I’m very hard-working, and would really love the opportunity to work with the MC to ensure People and Planet stays student-led, inspiring and effective.

Francesco Benvenuti

I am a 23 year old Ecology student with a lot of energy and a great deal of passion towards issues that I care about. The environmental conservation challenge crossed with a self-realization path is what my story is about. I have been involved with an Italian non-violent activist movement since I was 14.

I travelled around the world for 2 years, volunteering in Asia and Australia in reforestation and humanitarian projects, seeing first hand how other peoples’ lives are affected by our actions and choices. I joined P&P in 2009 and I have become inspired by the network and by its great potential for achieving a concrete change. I have been extensively involved in the organization of many events and P&P campaigns, participating in the forefront of many actions against RBS and other corporate powers. I was one of the main organizers of the Edinburgh Crude Awakening in October 2010 during which I gained skills in persuasion, motivation and coordination with other activists on a regional scale.

To allow as many students as possible to make informed decisions and to take action is one of my main goals. I think that this position on the Management Committee would be invaluable in teaching me new skills and would enhance my determination and strengthen my action. I believe that by engaging in this experience I could achieve a lot for the group and for the causes that the P&P network will decide to focus on. As an MC member I will push for a P&P base in Scotland and will work on improving the accessibility of P&P.

Ellie Davies

As president of Reading’s People and Planet Campaigns Society, I have taken our society in a new direction. Through People and Planet events such as Shared Planet, Summer Gathering, and regional training, I have changed our society to be more in line with People and Planet’s “party line”. We now focus almost exclusively on the Buy Right and Ditch Dirty Development campaigns, and have had some success. I have organised (with the help of my fabulous committee) a fair-trade festival, a festive fair-trade fayre, and speaker’s nights, as well as the People and Planet staples of petitions, stunts, and letter-writing. We also help with campaigns such as Students Stop AIDS, Student Action for Refugees, and feminist campaigns. If I am elected to the management committee I will help all the universities, both in my region and outside, to coordinate their campaigns. We can do so much more together, and I would love to organise big, attention-grabbing campaigns which will make people sit up and take notice. We can all gather for events such as the London Climate March, flashmobs, and Vodafone protests. Using media such as Skype and Facebook I will help People and Planet members to plan protests, actions and stunts. I will also engage other forms of media, such as local newspapers and the radio. It is small, cumulative action which counts, just as much as the big national events, and if we all work together we can achieve great things – just look at our previous successes with Vodafone and Fruit of the Loom!

Rosa Dennis

The first time I came in contact with People and Planet was at the Summer Campaigns Day 2010. This event inspired me to become more actively involved in my school on environmental issues, organising student assemblies to encourage wider participation.My following experience was at Shared Planet, this allowed me to engage with the extended P&P community. I built relationships with other student activists through discussion groups and I found the conference speakers were very inspiring and I felt excited about becoming more involved with People and Planet.

As a committee member, I would passionately raise awareness of environmental and social justice through the following methods:

· Social Media Engagement

To relate to both existing members and expand the charity’s profile to a wider, audience, I would create a greater online presence, perhaps including a twitter profile to understand membership responses towards particular issues.

Facebook could be used to provide video links to conferences which members cannot travel to.

· Peer-to-Peer School Campaigns

Following the success of similar university organised groups, I would like to develop a school based P&P programme which promotes the charity through member organised workshops and fundraising. As a member of the student executive in my school, I have previously organised similar social events for younger pupils and lead the my school’s Amnesty International group to raise over £400.

I believe I can fulfil this role because of my confidence displayed through my public speaking at Euroscola international student conference in Strasburg, organisational capability and commitment, developed through my responsibilities at school and as a Staff Member at Forest School Camps, however, most of all, through my enthusiasm for People and Planet.

Nat Harding

Hello there! I’m Nat Harding, a final year music student at Surrey University. Last year, I started up the Surrey P&P group, and this year I became my Student’s Union Ethics and Environment Officer. I’m also active with Transition Guildford, and I am my course academic rep.

I’ve very much enjoyed my experiences with the P&P network so far, having attended the last two Shared Planets, regional training events and this year’s Summer Gathering, and been involved in the Buy Right campaign.

My role as an Executive Officer in the student’s union and as my course academic rep has given me experience of representation, tough decision making, holding others to account, negotiating and finding creative solutions.

If elected, I would be interested in working on training and workshops provided by the network. The workshops already offered are great, but I’d like to carry out a review, attempting to provide a broader range that go more in depth, are more specialised, and operate as efficiently as possible.

I’ve poured a lot of time and effort in to my People and Planet group, and in return I’ve gained even more in skills, experience, confidence and fun, especially from the national network. After I have left university, I’d love to be a part of making these experiences possible for others, and continuing the fantastic work and results that we as a network achieve.

Mari Jones

I have been an avid member of Edinburgh university People & Planet since I started university and am currently a regional organiser for Scotland. Having always felt a strong affinity to People & Planet due to genuine concern with environmental and social justice issues and a strong belief that by acting together we can make a difference.

I am very committed both as a group member and regional organiser, and this year have put a huge amount of work into organising events and actions. This has been rewarding, and as a result of my efforts our group has been more active and all groups in Scotland are well-networked. I have also learned a huge amount, which I could apply to the MC.

Having attended most national and regional events since I started university, I have become much more aware of how People & Planet operates as a network. Since becoming regional organiser, I have spent a lot of time facilitating contact between Scottish groups through regional and local events, conference calls and newsletters. I believe that close contact between groups prevents smaller groups from feeling isolated and empowers them to act as part of a powerful movement. My organisational experience would stand me in good stead to represent the voice of the network.

For me, one of the most important aspects of campaigning is maintaining a positive mental outlook. It is this that first inspired me to get involved with People & Planet, and although this can be challenging given the seriousness of the issues we campaign on, it’s vital in inspiring future campaigners.

I believe that my experience and commitment to People & Planet would enable me to have a positive impact through the management committee, and I am eager to face the challenges that this role would present.

Megan Preston

For me, People & Planet is a burning passion. Seeing so many people come together and witnessing the power of people in numbers is truly moving and I couldn’t be prouder to be a member of the network. If elected, I would cherish the opportunity to be a voice of the network, listening to members and conveying their views in important decision-making meetings. Working at the heart of the organisation, I would strive to ensure that students’ best interests were maximised and strengthen our campaigning.

Having been P&P Secretary in York, I feel that I am an experienced campaigner with both the organisational skills and clear and critical thinking skills that are necessary for making good decisions about the direction P&P moves in. I understand how the organisation works and the importance of regional cooperation. I have lead campaigns on Tar Sands, unethical banking, local green issues and more, learning so much from my activist experience and I am enthusiastic about ensuring others get those same experiences.

I want to ensure that the excellence of campaigning continues, that outreach and accessibility for all students of all ages is improved upon and that P&P continues to be a shining beacon of what a student movement can achieve within society. I am interested in raising People & Planet’s public profile, both online and in media, in order to increase fundraising opportunities, expand the inspirational Shared Planet’s accessibility and raise our platform for championing social justice and the sustainable lifestyle choices that could create a Zero Carbon Britain by 2030.

I would be honoured to put my experience and passion into working on People & Planet’s key campaigns and helping to make the decisions that shape the organisation I love. A vote for me is a vote for a hard-working, approachable representative.

Fiona Ranford

Having been part of the People & Planet network for over 4 years I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with a bunch of incredibly inspiring and dynamic campaigners. Knowing how much energy and how many ideas are flying around the network, I would love the opportunity to sit on the MC and ensure your ideas feed straight into the strategic direction of People & Planet.   My varied experience of the network- campaigning in groups at Edinburgh and LSE, being a member of the Redress Fashion working group, and working in the office as an intern - has given me a good idea of the network’s strengths and the opportunities we have looking ahead, alongside some of the difficulties we face. I am currently working part-time in fundraising and enterprise for a small charity, while studying for my masters and campaigning with LSE’s People & Planet group. This is giving me insight into the technicalities of financial strategy in small charities, adding to my understanding of how People & Planet is co-ordinated.   If I’m voted onto the MC I will work conscientiously to make sure that decisions reflect what you care about, in order to increase democracy of our network and the effectiveness of our campaigns. I will also work to ensure that gender is taken into account more in People & Planet’s work, after meeting many people who said this was important during an open space at Shared Planet 2010, since the majority of those working in sweatshops are women. I will create and make the most of future opportunities to hear what you think is important, and what you want People & Planet to look like and be about, making sure that your ideas shape the future of the UKs biggest and most inspiring student campaigning network.