about
Learning collective worldmaking as an educational response to climate change
If any of us are going to make change happen effectively, we need to become more educated on the causes of the climate crisis, in order to strategize solutions collaboratively. Learning collective worldmaking is an interdisciplinary collection of projects that involve young people, teachers, organizations, and community members in co-designing transformative and justice-oriented approaches to climate education.
What is collective worldmaking?
Collective worldmaking is a way to live in creative and relational ways that respect all life and challenges harmful systems like capitalism, colonialism, and environmental destruction. It's about embracing many different perspectives, working together with the land and communities, and building a world where everyone can thrive boundaries of the planet.
Why is co-creation necessary?
Co-creation is necessary to ensure that people—especially those marginalized—can reclaim their agency and shape their futures. It’s about supporting alternative ways of knowing and being rather than following top-down, technocratic approaches to climate change.
Education systems often silence or discourage criticism of fossil fuels while normalizing global petrocultures. While scientists and youth call for an immediate phase-out of fossil fuels, teachers and education systems face curricular and socio-cultural barriers to implementing the climate change education required to create the cultural shifts necessary for rapid and deep reductions in emissions.
Some of the key questions posed by Learning Collective Worldmaking include:
- What does worldmaking look like in the context of climate change?
- How do youth in different locations on the planet understand and experience the climate crisis, the role of fossil fuels, and what is implicated in just energy transition? What kinds of anxieties do young people have about climate change and lack of action on decarbonization? What do they need to know to feel empowered to take action?
- What do education futures look like based on what young people think is possible/necessary? What is beyond the imagination?
- What are the roles of educators, organizations, researchers, and community members in collective worldmaking?
