History

Millennium Kids was founded by four twelve-year-olds in 1996. A small group of Western Australian students attended the United Nations ‘Leave It To Us’ environmental conference for children in the United Kingdom (UK). Upon their return, they were disappointed with the level of youth involvement in local environment issues and decided to develop their own environmental conference, "Kids Helping Kids", with support of

Perth Zoo Perth Zoo is a zoological park in South Perth, Western Australia, South Perth, Western Australia. The zoo first opened in 1898 and by 2011 housed 1258 animals of 164 species and an extensive botanical collection. It is a full institutional me ...

, Department of Environment,

Clean Up Australia Clean Up Australia Limited is a not-for-profit Australian environmental conservation organisation. It is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Clean Up Australia Limited has sponsored a yearly Clean Up Aus ...

, CALM and the City of South Perth. Following this, they founded Millennium Kids. In 2000, they presented a series of "environmental challenges" to Environment Minister

Cheryl Edwardes Cheryl Lynn Edwardes (; born 1 March 1950) is a former Australian politician. She was born at Mount Hawthorn in Perth, Western Australia and was a barrister and solicitor before entering politics. In 1989 she was elected to the Western Austra ...

, who tabled them at Parliament. In 2012, the Western Australia Headquarters was based in the Old

Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, ...

. The group works with schools to arrange environmental and

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

education, connecting pupils and teachers with local community groups. In 2014, the group organised projects to clean up the Swan River.

Organisation

Millennium Kids is a registered charity with affiliates in Canada and South Africa, and has collaborative links in Indonesia, China and Malaysia. The organization is run by children aged 10-25 years old and is supported by educators, mentors, and sponsors. In 2014 the president was Rachael Cochrain. Millennium Kids is directed by a Youth Board, with fifteen members aged between 10 and 25 years. It is supported by the United Nations Environment Program Agenda 21, Chapter 25 Declaration which states that "national governments should pay more attention to the opinions and concerns of children regarding the environment’ and how it should be managed for future generations".

Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, as a not-for-profit organisation, Millennium Kids facilitates many environmental activities across

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

(from

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, to

Kitchener-Waterloo The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...

). A youth board is present in Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo, as well as a chapter starting up in 2006 through the school system in Toronto, Ontario. The youth board decides on what initiatives will be taken upon the year. Among the activities, the Car Free Festival are planned as initiatives in cooperation with other environmental/youth empowerment organisations that reside in the respective area of the initiative.

References

External links

Millennium Kids HQ AustraliaMillennium Kids Canada
Non-profit organisations based in Western Australia Youth empowerment organizations Organizations established in 1996 Environmental charities based in Australia {{youth-org-stub