Climate Refugees are people forced to leave their home because of natural disasters or conditions intensified by Climate Change, such as sea level rise or drought. This forced movement happens to 1 person every second and numbers are thought to dramatically increase in the years to come.
Our mission is to protect the rights of anyone that finds themselves in these circumstances. We are fighting for policies that are both humane and empowering, with the view to providing protection for the people who move. We are also working towards encouraging public acceptance and gaining support for the cause on a local, national and international level.
As I am sure you all know by now, in order to raise awareness of this issue we have decided to hold an art competition with entries centred around the subject, in order to ignite conversation and attract local media. The competition was launched on 25th March and closed on the 11th May.
The competition was open to all age groups and prizes given for three different age categories. As well as a prize, the winners had their winning pieces placed in various places around Birmingham, such as Birmingham Library, The REP theatre, The Electric cinema and many other exciting venues.
So far:
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We have met with and collaborated with many different organisations such as Lush, Christian Aid and we have held workshops with the Birmingham Library and Refugee centres.
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We have found 9 exciting locations to display our pieces.
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We have made a webpage and have a strong social media presence, on both Facebook and Instagram. We have also made an Eventbrite, with tickets for the art exhibition.
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We have collaborated with primary schools across the city and provided lesson plans around the topic of climate refugees
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We held a fundraiser cake sale and a pub quiz
Webpage: www.birminghamfoe.org.uk/homematters
Instagram: @home.matters
If you are interested and want to get involved please email:
Libby at: libby@birminghamfoe.org.uk or Alice at: alice@birminghamfoe.org.uk
