Author: Lucinda Jarret, Rosetta Life
The Place4Hope project by Rosetta Life is an initiative aimed at empowering young people facing loss, ecogrief and ecoanxiety, to engage in creative activities and science and environmental education to drive climate action and advocate for climate justice and climate health.
Rosetta Life, known for its focus on social change through the arts, utilizes this online platform to encourage young leaders to express their concerns about climate change through various artistic mediums, such as performance, poetry, visual arts, and digital storytelling.
The challenge:
Climate change brings serious challenges like water shortages, wildfires, mental and physical health problems, but young people often don’t have the tools or platforms to share their ideas or make a difference.
Place4Hope helps fill this gap by combining science, art, leadership and storytelling to inspire action and build global connections.
The programme aims to:
- Give young people creative tools to express themselves, share stories, and advocate for change.
- Show how climate change impacts health and marginalised communities.
- Encourage teamwork across cultures to tackle global climate issues.
- Use art to raise awareness and share solutions that others can use too.
Approach
Place4Hope brought together 28 young leaders from around the world for a Summer School program. Participants used creative methods to explore climate change and its impact on health.
Workshops and Discussions: Safe spaces let participants share their ideas and learn from each other’s experiences with climate justice.
Storytelling: Young leaders used art forms like films and zines to share their personal and local stories about climate issues.
Collaboration: Group sessions focused on brainstorming solutions, while partnerships with organizations helped participants build connections and learn more.
Cross-Cultural Sharing: Participants exchanged ideas about climate challenges in their home countries, helping everyone see the bigger picture and work together on solutions.
The project focuses on amplifying the voices of youth, providing them with the tools and resources needed to create impactful works that address environmental issues. Through workshops, mentoring, and collaborations with artists, the participants are guided to develop projects that not only highlight the urgency of climate action but also foster community engagement and awareness.
Place4Hope emphasizes creativity as a powerful tool for advocacy, aiming to inspire both the participants and their communities to take meaningful action towards a more sustainable future.
The Film:
Life, Hope, Water is a short film that explores water, health and climate justice. It is a Place4Hope project co-produced by Rosetta Life and 28 young leaders from across the world.
The film from our programme Place4Hope, accompanied by the song created during the Summer School, will be presented at the Canopy, showcasing the collective creativity and voices of the young leaders involved. The Canopy is Wellcome’s citizen art, science and policy festival and a cross-sector collaborative network launching for Climate Week NYC’s first ever health program in September 2024. It aims to support a transformation in how we understand, address and talk about climate and health.
Watch the film HERE
Next Steps:
May 2025 Rosetta Life will open applications for Place4Hope 2025. This year the programme will focus on the challenges facing our health as a result of humanitarian crises posed by extreme heat and fires.
For more information and to find out how to get involved, do get in touch: info@rosettalife.org
