British students can deliver their views on climate change directly to the government in the light of the international climate conference in Copenhagen, by using an online writing platform.

Students from across Britain are being asked to co-write a shared vision of how to combat climate change for the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC). Students can contribute their ideas, mix and match their copy with that of others and vote on entries, to arrive at their final, democratically-produced text of a shared vision for a deal at Copenhagen. Britain's National Union of Students (NUS), in collaboration with DECC, encourage students to get actively involved and make their voices heard.

This online collaborative writing tool is used, as it constitutes a fast way for students from across Britain to work together. Students will agree on a statement of objectives (manifesto), by holding an online vote on the best and most useful ideas put forward. This will be published at DECC on 5 December 2009. A copy of the manifesto will also be presented to the Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, before his departure for the Copenhagen negotiations.

Background Information:

Collaborative writing tools are quite new, and provide an easy way for people to work together. Using online collaborative writing tools, people are able to:

• contribute ideas;
• write and edit text;
• rate text written by others;
• work together in real time, whatever their location;
• democratically agree a shared finished product.

Further information:

• Official Press Release-Directgov - Website
• Mixed Ink-Act on Copenhagen - Website
• Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) - Website

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