This event examines the historical role of stories in solving the existential problems humanity has confronted, and extracts valuable principles that can help guide the communicators who will help generate support for saving life on Earth. It will also examine how these stories can work in tandem with the efforts of community organizers who will spark, mobilize, and sustain long-term action.
The event has been organised by the US NGO, Nature Needs Half, RSA Sustainability network and with support from RSA US. There will be a presentation from Amy Lewis and Crista Valentino, then time for discussion and questions.
Speakers:
Amy Lewis, former environmental policy and social movement instructor, and member of an international team working to protect half of Earth’s land and seas.
Crista Valentino, CoalitionWILD Director, and global community organizer who is helping sustain youth leadership for environmental challenges around the world.
Never before in human history have we been required to ask (or answer!) the question, how much nature do we need to survive. Up until now, there has always been enough to meet our most basic needs. But as the pace of nature destruction accelerates, scientists have come to the consensus that we need at least 50% of Earth’s land and seas intact in order to survive.
The scale of protection required now is unprecedented, as are the solutions being proposed. In order to generate sufficient political and societal will to achieve them, storytellers, and the community organizers who mobilize publics around common themes and narratives, will play a larger role in the environmental movement than ever before.
At the same time we are asking how much nature we need to survive, we might also ask what types of stories do we need to survive. This event will focus on how we can engage the public in understanding how to protect nature and what types of stories will help us get there.