Ben West is the Communications Coordinator for the UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC), a role he holds alongside studying for a degree in History & Politics at Oxford University. Ben spent much of his childhood growing up in the politically charged atmosphere of late 1990s Mississippi, just an hour’s drive from New Orleans.

In an environment in which he says, ‘God, guns, gays and hurricanes’ were ‘unavoidable issues’ even for a 10year old, Ben’s interest in global issues and current affairs developed early. Upon his return to the UK at the age of 12, Ben set up the online discussion website Global Teen, partly in response to the lack of opportunities for young people to engage in politics via traditional routes.

Since then, Ben has acted in an advisory role for Oxfam and student campaigning organisation People & Planet. Prior to university, Ben spent a year working for The National Trust developing a youth leadership programme, supporting young people from diverse backgrounds in climate change campaigning.

At the UKYCC, he works with members of the 60-strong team of volunteers and member organisations to change how we talk and think about the climate crisis. He believes that the climate movement urgently needs to develop beyond traditional environmentalist messages if it is to build mass support and engage non-traditional groups of young people.