The biggest Green Arts Conference ever! – Read all about it

A huge thank you from the Creative Carbon Scotland team everyone involved for making The Green Arts Conference 2018 the best one yet! Catch-up on what happened.

Scotland’s arts & cultural sector came together this month to drive forward action for a better world. Over 150 people came together for the biggest ever – and sold-out – Green Arts Conference: Culture Change!

Catch-up on what happened

Write-ups from the plenary sessions and break-outs have been brought together in the Green Arts Conference: Culture Change report published today (Friday 8 November). This year we had an opening address from the Scottish Government, setting the context in which the sector is working, a first for the conference.

Scotland will achieve 100% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 slide presented by Colin Seditas of Scottish Government

The Green Arts Conference 2018 - Culture Change Conference Report front cover- #GreenArts

This year’s conference had a major theme of adaptation to the effects of climate change with sessions on the specific challenges from the impacts of climate change – such as flooding from more extreme rain – and where opportunities may lie for organisations to positively adapt.

Alongside showcasing projects from members of the Green Arts Initiative like WASPs studios encouraging cycling through providing showers and secure bike parking and Summerhall installing electric car charging points there were examples of organisations working with artists to explore environmental issues through their work.

This year the Green Arts Conference had over 150 participants including from outside of Scotland with representatives from the Irish Theatre Forum in Dublin and Siam Satire, the home of Ireland’s National Folk Theatre, based in Tralee on the west coast and Invisible Dust from London. They joined attendees from across Scotland including Comar from Mull, Pier Arts from Orkney, North Lands Creative from Lybster in Sutherland and Blueprint 100 from Dumfries and a video & twitter link-up with Atlas Arts from Portree on Skye.

A word on Lunch

The catering for any event is always an opportunity for event organisers to make a positive environmental choice, and reducing the amount of meat – especially red meat – and dairy is a great step. This year we took the decision of going for a fully vegan lunch at the conference, walking the walk and all that. We have to say that it’s not always easy working with a new supplier and asking them to try something different. On this occasion we felt the lunch was not as fantastic as you may have been expecting, but it was a learning experience for both us and the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church. We don’t aim to let this put us off, but we will be mindful that fully vegan catering for 150+ people still isn’t an everyday ask and we’ll work with suppliers in the future to get it right.

Stay in touch

If you’re part of a cultural organisation join the Green Arts Initiative so you’re first to know about next year’s conference and what’s happening throughout the year. We had a fantastic time with so many people coming together for The Green Arts Conference: Culture Change, one more big thanks to everyone who was part of it!

The post The biggest Green Arts Conference ever! – Read all about it appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

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