Anna Rose (born 14 April 1983) is an Australian author, activist and environmentalist. She co-founded the

Australian Youth Climate Coalition The Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) is a youth organisation in Australia focused on climate change activism. The organisation aims "to build a movement of young people leading solutions to the climate crisis", by empowerment and educa ...

(AYCC) in late 2006 with Amanda McKenzie. In 2012 she co-starred in an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

documentary, ''I Can Change Your Mind on Climate Change'' and released her first full-length book, ''Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic''. Rose is the founder and CEO of Environment Leadership Australia, a not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation championing community and political leadership on climate change. She sits on the Board of Directors of Farmers for Climate Action, is a Governor of WWF-Australia, an advisory board member for Australian Geographic Society, and a former

Myer Foundation The Myer Foundation is a major Australian philanthropic organisation. History The Sidney Myer Charitable Trust was established by the will of Sidney Myer, who died in 1934, leaving a portion of his estate for the benefit of the community. Myer's ...

Innovation Fellow.

Early life and education

Rose was born in

Newcastle, NSW Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and it is the hub of th ...

, and graduated from

Merewether High School Merewether High School (abbreviated as MHS) is a government-funded co-educational academically selective secondary day school, located in the suburb of Broadmeadow in the city of , Australia. It was established in 1977 following the merger o ...

in 2001. She won a scholarship with Distinction to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

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 The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

, and in her final year she went on exchange to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in upstate New York. Rose received the Young Alumni Award for Achievement in 2009.

Career

Student activism

Rose was elected Environment Officer of the Students Representative Council and was spokesperson for the organisation ''Sustainability'' at Sydney University. In 2005 and 2006 she helped to lead a student campaign for the university to take action to reduce carbon emissions. In 2004, Rose was elected an editor of ''

Honi Soit ''Honi Soit'' is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. Its name is an abbrev ...

'', the weekly student newspaper. 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 The Australian Student Environment Network (ASEN) is the national network of many campus environment collectives in Australia, formed at the 1997 Students and Sustainability convergence in Townsville. People from ASEN facilitate communication betw ...

. At the end of 2005 Rose was selected to attend the United Nations Kyoto Protocol climate change negotiations in Montreal. In 2007, Rose went on exchange to

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...

and while living in the United States represented young Australians at the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

's Special Conference on

Climate Change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

at the United Nations in New York on 24 September.

Australian Youth Climate Coalition

In 2006, Rose founded the

by bringing together representatives from all major Australian youth-run organisations in Melbourne for a three-day founding summit. 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 organisational fundamentals, growing membership, and representing the organisation in the media and at public events. For example, she spoke alongside the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

at Perth's

Burswood Dome The Dome at Crown Perth (originally the Burswood Superdome and formerly the Burswood Dome) was a multi-purpose indoor arena used for sports and entertainment. The dome was in size, with seating for 13,600 people. The whole arena was pressurised ...

. Rose was instrumental in two Australian Youth Climate Coalition projects in 2009.

Power Shift Power Shift is an annual youth summit which has been held in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Other Power Shift Conferences are also being organised by members of the International Youth Climate Movement ...

, Australia's first youth climate summit, brought together 1500 of the AYCC's most active members together at the

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus public research university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university in its current form was founde ...

for three days of training and workshops in campaigning and grassroots organising. The final day culminated in a

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people that assembles suddenly in a public place, performs for a brief time, then quickly disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organize ...

dance on the steps of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. 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

In 2009, Rose 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 Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'', ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

Australia'' and other publications. In 2012, Rose appeared on the

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

documentary ''I Can Change Your Mind About... Climate''.

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

In 2012,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

published Rose's book ''Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic''. The book is the story of Rose's efforts to change the mind of former Finance Minister

Nick Minchin Nicholas Hugh Minchin (born 15 April 1953) is an Australian former politician and former Australian Consul-General in New York. He previously served as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to J ...

on the science of climate change. The book received favourable reviews by authors

Bill McKibben William Ernest McKibben (born December 8, 1960)"Bill Ernest McKibben." ''Environmental Encyclopedia''. Edited by Deirdre S. Blanchfield. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, December 31, 2017. is a ...

and

Peter FitzSimons Peter John FitzSimons (born 29 June 1961) is an Australian author, journalist, and radio and television presenter. He is a former national representative rugby union player and was the chair of the Australian Republic Movement from 2015 to 20 ...

, scientists

Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities tha ...

and Matthew England, former leader of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

John Hewson John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election. Hewson w ...

, CEO of

World Vision Australia World Vision Australia (WVA) is an ecumenical Christian non-governmental organisation based in Melbourne, Australia. It is a part of the ''World Vision International Partnership'' led by World Vision International. WVA is Australia's largest ov ...

Tim Costello Timothy Ewen Costello (born 4 March 1955) is an Australian Baptist minister who was the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Advocate of World Vision Australia. Costello worked as a lawyer and served as mayor of St Kilda. He has authored a num ...

, and lead singer of the Australian band

Blue King Brown Blue King Brown is an Australian urban roots ensemble formed in 2003 in Byron Bay by mainstays Nattali Rize and Carlo Santone. They have released three studio albums, ''Stand Up'' (October 2006), ''Worldwize Part 1 – North & South'' (August ...

Natalie Pa'apa'a Nattali Rize (born Natalie Magdalena Chilcote) is an Australian-born, Jamaican-based musician, record producer and social activist. In 2003, as Natalie Pa'apa'a, on lead vocals and lead guitar, she was joined by her domestic partner, Carlo San ...

. Later in 2012, Rose also toured the book around Australia on the 'Madlands Book Tour', visiting over 50 towns and cities around Australia.

Academic

Rose was a course convenor and lecturer at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, for the undergraduate course 'Leadership & Influence'. 'Leadership & Influence' is one of three Vice Chancellor's Courses, which are high-level, inter-disciplinary subjects involving active discovery and research. Rose is currently an Associate with the Melbourne University Sustainable Societies Institute.

Farmers for Climate Action

Rose is on the board of Farmers for Climate Action, a movement of farmers and agricultural leaders putting farmers at the centre of climate solutions behind and beyond the farm gate.

Groundswell

Rose is a co-founder of Australia's first climate advocacy-focused giving circle, Groundswell.

Environmental Leadership Australia

Rose is the founder and CEO of Environment Leadership Australia, a not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation championing community and political leadership on climate change.

Awards and honours

Rose's awards and honours include: *2007–2008 – International Youth Foundation Fellowship *2008 – Delegate, Prime Minister's Australia 2020 Summit *2008–2009 – Australian Leadership Award from the Australian Davos Connection *2009 – University of Sydney Young Alumni Award for Achievement *2010 – Sydney Morning Herald '100 Most Influential Sydneysiders' *2010 –

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

Earthcare Award for International Environmental Protection *2011 – Sydney Morning Herald '50 Most Powerful People in NSW' *2011 – The Australian/ IBM Expert Contributor, Shaping Our Future Series *2014 – Australian Geographic Society's Conservationist of the Year *2015 – ACT Australian of the Year Nominee *2019 – AFR Woman of Influence

Publications

* ''Madlands, a journey into the climate fight'', 2012,

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Anna Australian writers Australian women environmentalists Living people 1983 births People from Newcastle, New South Wales University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the Australian National University