With most events to be streamed online, Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2021 are hosting a full programme of delights 24-28 November.
Included in the programme is a Wales Climate Week event on Friday 26 November 'How the creative arts can influence behavioural change'. Sustainability Director Andy Fryers will lead the discussion and is joined by Amika Georga, Owen Sheers, Sinead Walsh, and Sophie Howe. The expert panel will look at decisions made at COP26 and discuss the role in creativity, design, storytelling and innovation in conveying the issues and ultimately influencing behavioural change. Also on the 26 November will be 'Hope in hell: A decade to confront the climate emergency' with Jonathon Porritt and Hannah Martin.
The Hay Festival have been working on climate change related events for 15 years and are champions for exploring creative solutions to climate impact. Following the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic where the festival had to move to a digital format, it was clear that, although not easy, this change had caused beneficial environmental impacts. However, they say, a digital format of a festival doesn't completely negate CO2 impact, as video streaming is 'the largest part of the digital carbon footprint.' Following this realisation, the festival have been measuring the impact of their digital carbon footprint. Digital footprinting also inspired a number of animations created by students at Hereford College of Arts in collaboration with Hay on Earth, sharing messages to encourage others to reduce their digital carbon footprint.
Earlier in 2021, the festival shortlisted 26 of 412 submissions and 48 countries, as part of their 'Write for Change' competition. These submissions contributed to an 'anthology of public works to inspire a better world.' The winner of the over 18s category was Elnaya Mahadevi Pillian from Indonesia and the winner of the under 18s category was Emmanuel Lafenwa from Nigeria.
Hay on Earth x Hereford College of Arts
Animations