NYC Climate Week begins in just a few days and runs from September 17-24. Though there is unfortunately almost no expressly religious content, there are quite a few sessions that concern ecojustice, Indigenous issues, eco-anxiety, and other related topics. So, below we highlight some of the sessions and events that we thought might be of interest to Forum followers. This list is not comprehensive by any means, as the offerings during this event are quite abundant! See the calendar on the official website for a searchable list of every official event. In addition, many NY & NJ organizations are hosting side events to coincide with climate week. See their websites for more information.
The week will kick off with the March to End Fossil Fuels at 1pm EST this Sunday, September 17. The March will begin at 56th & Broadway. Many NY & NJ organizations, such as Waterspirit and Riverkeeper, will march as groups. Again, see their websites for further information.
Some of the climate week events are in-person only (and in-person events happen all over the greater NYC area–see sesssion description for details), but many are hybrid or virtual and accessible online from anywhere in the world. We've indicated which each is below. Virtual registration can be found here. Also see the registration link within each individual session.
Religiously-oriented
Eco-anxiety/eco-grief
- From eco-anxiety to eco-optimism: Listening to a generation of resilient youth (format unlisted)
- Tools for Eco-Anxiety: Building Emotional Resilience in Climate Work (virtual)
- EcoRise: Climate Resiliency in the Classroom: New York City (virtual)
- Confronting Climate Grief in Fiction (hybrid)
Indigenous
- Backing Indigenous Leaders: where ending the Climate Crisis, and Decolonization Meet (in-person)
- Indigenous Women - Creative Economy as a Tool for Preserving Nature (in-person)
- Amazonia: the Heart of Mother Earth - Protecting Indigenous Lands & Recognizing Ecocide (in-person)
- Advancing Indigenous Peoples Led Solutions for a Just Transition (hybrid)
- Empowering Indigenous Peoples through Equitable Climate Finance and Just Transition for a Sustainable Future (hybrid)
- More Trees, Fewer Cows: Illegal Cattle in Mesoamerica’s Great Forests (in-person)
Other ecojustice-related sessions
- BIPOC Climate Justice Dialogue (hybrid)
- Translating Science into Solutions: Confronting the Impacts of Environmental Toxins on Black Children and Families (virtual)
- Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Week (April 1-8, 2024) (virtual)
- The Legacy of Colonization and Racism in Africa (in-person)
- Listening to Latin America, building a climate movement by and for our people (in-person)
- Climate Justice: A Transatlantic Dialogue (in-person)
- Climate Justice and a Culture of Co-Creation (in-person)
- Climate Justice and Energy Democracy: Putting Frontline Communities First (in-person)
- How the Global North can accept responsibility for the climate emergency and act fairly to solve it (in-person)
- The Intersection of Climate Change and Racism in the Southern US (in-person)
- Thinking About Disability & Climate Change (in-person)
One interesting aspect of this year's climate week is the appearance of some intriguing sessions on story and narrative that have the feel of what was brought up by Brit Wray on Day 1 of the RITA Summit: transformational adaptation, where we can individually and collectively imagine the future and bring it into being. A few sessions related to that theme:
- How Storytelling Advances Solutions (hybrid)
- Afterglow: Envisioning a Radically Different Climate Future (hybrid)
- The Art and Science of Storytelling for Climate Action and Climate Justice (in-person)
- Amplifying Environmental Origin Stories Workshop (in-person)
- Confronting Climate Grief in Fiction (hybrid)
And there are also many intriguing events related to the arts. Here are a few that caught my eye:
- Maya Lin's Ghost Forest Seedlings Exhibiton (in-person)
- Virtual Premiere of “Consider Water” and Time to Talk with Dava (ballet; virtual)
- Rights of Nature Art Exhibit and Zoom Art Talk (in-person)
- Orcas & Reefs an Art Show by Selva Ozelli (hybrid)
- Healing Waters by Selva Ozelli for Havre de Grace Maritime Museum and Environmental Center (hybrid)