Climate.Culture.Peace Conference

The online conference Climate Culture Peace takes place January 24-28. The conference is a knowledge-building initiative, aimed at exploring the interconnections between culture, climate change, peace and disaster resilience.

Climate.Culture.Peace aims to illustrate the role that culture plays in understanding and responding to the global climate crisis. Culture and heritage are at the core of this initiative, illustrated with place-based stories, knowledge/research/practice presentations, ignite talks and multi-media guided by four interconnected themes. 

For the purposes of this project, we wish to emphasize that culture and heritage bring together the full range of human experience – from the past into the present. Together they include physical things (such as places, sites, objects and artefacts, buildings, monuments, landscapes and environments) and the many forms of knowledge and practices that allow us to see, listen, share and explore who we are now and how we have come to be. 

This conference will be centred around engaging culture in sustainable and resilient human responses to climate change while safeguarding heritage from conflicts and disasters brought on by climate-related environmental stresses. It will connect people from all around the world, engaging them in dialogue and discussion through a variety of interactions.

This initiative is organised by ICCROM and generously supported by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund (CPF) in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and seeks the participation from all CPF target countries.

Why This Focus?

An existential threat to life on Earth, the climate crisis is widespread and intensifying. There has been a significant rise in heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, floods and cyclones, indicating our increasing vulnerability and exposure to disaster risk. The unprecedented rise in sea levels is threatening most coastal settlements – cities like Alexandria and Venice could disappear forever. Environmental stresses caused by climate change, contribute to food insecurity, displacement and unemployment, thereby feeding into the root causes of an existing conflict or giving rise to new tensions.

Climate change, therefore, must be seen as a complex problem that has intertwined social, cultural, environmental, and economic underpinnings. Culture fuels creativity and connection. Climate change has become one of the primary threats for culture. Culture and heritage shape our perceptions of, and responses to, climate change and the environmental variability it is bringing. But major global approaches are not yet recognizing the influence of culture and heritage on climate action.

When: January 24-28 2022

Where: Online

Register here