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.
In order to raise awareness of this issue we have decided to hold an art competition with entries centered around the subject. The date of release is still to be verified but just watch this space (unless by the time you are reading this we have a date)! The competition will be open to all age groups and there will be prizes given for three different age categories. As well as a prize, the winners will get to have their winning pieces placed in various places around Birmingham.
So far:
– We have met up with a group called Hidden Voices who are also working on the same campaign. Through talking with them we decided it was too big of a challenge to tackle alone. Therefore we decided to create a steering group. This will be a coalition of groups and individuals who will work together towards achieving the same goals, raising awareness and shouting loud enough so that the government take the matter seriously. We are hoping to meet with this group sometime in late February.
– We are currently getting in contact with various organisations and businesses to see if they will display the winning pieces.
– We are also working behind the scenes, again making sure everything is perfect, by writing guidelines, petitions, leaflets and posters before releasing the competition to the public.
There is still a lot more to do but we are very excited about our plans!
If you are interested and want to get involved please email Libby at:
libby@birminghamfoe.org.uk or Alice at: alice@birminghamfoe.org.uk
