The sixth episode centres around the transformative power of the arts in addressing climate change and how the arts can open spaces for experimentation and innovation in imagining new realities and societal models that integrate ecological awareness and sustainability. The episode features Dr. Jen Rae and Sarah Suib. They discuss art and design highlighting the need to learn and respect indigenous knowledge systems for a societal shift from extractivism to relational and interconnected ways of living. Dr. Jen Rae, an artist, researcher, and advocate for rewilding practices, emphasizes the role of the arts in community resilience, particularly in adapting to and preparing for climate-related disasters. of indigenous and nature-informed wisdom

Dr Sarah Suib

Sarah is a consultant and the founder of Hint Studio, Brussels. She is also a designer and mender with years of experience in sustainable design and product development projects, user experiences, cleaner productions, ESG research, and frugal innovations. Her expertise lies in design thinking, design for sustainability, user research, and the circular economy. She works with small and medium sized companies to integrate sustainability and circularity strategies in their products and practices. Sarah is an alumnus of CCL Benelux (2023).

Dr Jen Rae

Jen is an award-winning artist-researcher whose practice-led expertise is situated at the intersections of art, speculative futures and climate emergency disaster adaptation and resilience. Her work is predominantly articulated through transdisciplinary collaborative methodologies and multi-platform projects, community alliances and public pedagogies. Jen is Co-founder and Creative Research Lead at the Centre for Reworlding, a member of the Australian Task Force for Creative Recovery and a 2023 Creative Australia Fellow. Jen is an alumnus of CCL Australia (2023).

Links and references:
Centre for Reworlding - https://www.centreforreworlding.com/

Hint Studio - https://hint-studio.com/
Alfred Russel Wallace - https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/who-was-alfred-russel-wallace.html

Maria Campbell - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Campbell
Refuge (2018) - https://www.doherty.edu.au/news-events/events/refuge-2018-pandemic
The Past is a Sustainable Country - https://www.creativeclimateleadership.com/alumni/sarah-suib/

The Relationship is the Project - https://therelationshipistheproject.com/

The fifth episode explores what cultural policy is, its significance, and how it can influence societal change and play a role in social change, especially concerning climate and sustainability goals. The episode features Solveig Korum, Senior Advisor for Culture and Sustainability, and Rie Alkemade, Project Officer at the Cultural Relations Platform who discuss importance of preserving cultural practices and rights, particularly those threatened by climate change, and the potential of the cultural sector in promoting innovative and creative thinking in policymaking. The episode addresses how cultural policy can facilitate deeper, more meaningful intercultural exchanges and collaborations. Solveig and Rie discuss the need for policy that supports artistic initiatives related to sustainability and fosters dialogue between different sectors of society.

Rie Alkemade
Rie is a project and relations manager and a cultural producer with a keen interest in the creative artistic and cultural fields, and is a Project Officer for the Cultural Relations Platform. Her focus and passion has been primarily on cultivating sustainable partnerships and networks at a people-to-people level through fostering intercultural dialogue and exchanges based on mutual co-collaboration. Rie is an alumnus of CCL Benelux (2023).

Dr Solveig Korum

Solveig is an academic who works as an advisor for culture and sustainability at the R&D department of Kulturtanken – Arts for Young Audiences Norway. She is the co-founder of NaCuHeal Senegal, an NGO that operates tree-planting programs in West Africa and teaches Kundalini yoga at University of Oslo. Solveig is an alumnus of CCL Scandinavia (2022).

Song credit: Let The Light In by Marte Wulff (CCL Scandinavia 2022) and Chirkutt (Bangladesh).

Links and references:

Kulturtanken - https://www.kulturtanken.no/en/
Cultural Relations Platform - https://www.cultureinexternalrelations.eu/

UNFCCC - https://unfccc.int

Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage - https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention
Faro Convention - https://www.coe.int/en/web/culture-and-heritage/faro-convention

2005 Convention on Diversity of Cultural Expressions - https://www.unesco.org/creativity/en/2005-convention

MONDIACULT 2022 - https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/mondiacult-2022-states-adopt-historic-declaration-culture
Global Cultural Relations Programme - https://www.cultureinexternalrelations.eu/global-cultural-relations-programme

Culture|2030 indicators - https://sdghub.com/project/culture2030-indicators

Let the Light In - https://open.spotify.com/track/60YTkv3srf1EnbujqXbsXQ?si=e8146b3398eb489e

In this episode, artist, writer, educator and activist Alistair Gentry talks about the relevance of storytelling, language and creative tech in framing climate issues in a way that inspires meaningful action. We’ll be delving into emerging technologies and how they are influencing the creative landscape, and opening up new opportunities for engagement and activism while also unpacking the challenges and considerations for using these technologies ethically and responsibly.

Alistair Gentry

Alistair is an artist, writer, producer and educator in creative writing, performance, live and participatory art. He has been an activist in artists’ livelihoods and wellbeing for about 15 years, with particular focus on LGBTQ+, disabled, low income background and self-taught artists and leaders. He has collaborated extensively with scientists and technologists, particularly in the social sciences. Alistair is an alumnus of CCL UK (2023).

Links and references:
Tim Berners-Lee - https://home.web.cern.ch/science/computing/birth-web
DoxBox trustbot - https://culture.theodi.org/doxbox/
Bank Job and Power - https://twitter.com/bankjobpictures?lang=en

How dirty is your data? - https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/dirty-data-report-greenpeace.pdf

Open Data Institute - https://theodi.org/