Given the dire climate crisis that humanity faces, how do we outline a positive vision that will mobilise people globally to become active and politically engaged on the climate change issue for the long term? What are the challenges activists in the environment, social justice and human rights fields face in conveying climate change not as an “inevitable reality” but as an “opportunity”? How can we frame education and policy to be empowering and visionary rather than reactive and inadequate?

Current social research shows that, overwhelmingly, knowledge about climate change is not enough to motivate action; catastrophic news and fear disempowers people and leaves them hopeless; guilt about current behaviour and lifestyle disengages them. A far more powerful motivator for action is a vision of a positive future with co-benefits (such as healthier lives, more quality time, more equity etc.) and a recognition that there are systemic institutional barriers to action (financial disincentives, unhelpful government regulations, oil and coal subsidies etc.).

This workshop will share and discuss powerful ideas on:
* Communicating Urgency (how not to lose our audience)
* Communicating Hope (visions of a positive future)
* Understanding Barriers to Action (what needs to change to make action easier)