Theatre in Climate Change: A Practical Come Together! Workshop in Paris

 

The Come togehter! team at the Cité de Sciences et de l'industrie.

Climate change is not only a complex and challenging topic to understand, but it also evokes many difficult conversations, and emotional responses. Recently, we have seen an increase in climate anxiety, particularly among young people. Yet, resistance to address this topic and boredom are also prevalent. Discussing climate change with individuals who, for a variety of reasons, such as economic and social disadvantage or belonging to a specific ethnic group, are rarely seen as discussants on this topic, presents a special challenge. Our questions in this project include how to engage marginalized adults in these debates, how to encourage them to recognize their power and possibilities to act, and how to listen to and learn about their perspectives, experiences, and understandings of climate change, rather than simply presenting scientific information. We will tackle this by using theater techniques that we learned about at the project meeting at the Cité de Sciences et de l'industrie in Paris.

Between January 21 and 23, 2025, a workshop led by Maurizio Bertolini and Alberto Pagliarino, experts from the Social and Community Theater Center of the University of Turin, was held in Paris. Various approaches were offered to help facilitators of science communication activities in breaking the ice, creating an atmosphere in the group, opening up desired topics, exploring the participants' embodied beliefs and habits, and encouraging creativity. The presented techniques are an excellent starting point for sensitizing people to a topic and connecting it with personal experiences and reflections. Two days of learning about not only the theory, but also the practice of the theater approach, allowed us to experience the techniques firsthand and facilitate them ourselves in the project group. 

The team at the space of the theater workshop.

We also developed three scenarios for exploring the topics of mobility, gardening, and the future. These detailed scenarios for one to two-hour activities incorporate theater techniques that facilitators can use to address each topic. These scenarios will serve as our guidance as we plan artistic activities for specific target groups, addressing a variety of climate change issues. Next to this fascinating and engaging improvisation theater workshop, the Come together! project team was able to visit and experience exhibitions and activities at the Cité de Sciences et de l'industrie. This included a get-together with the museum's science communicators and facilitators as well as a visit to the museum's various different areas.

Working together on the scenarios.

For instance, we saw and experienced the exhibition »Climate emergency« together, we had a look at the kids' area and we even danced in area specifically designed for this purpose. From this, we could not only learn about pressing climate issues and foster our ability to talk about them, but we also experienced how we can use our own bodies to express ourselves. This was interesting and challenging at the same time; however, we also had lots of fun.

Visiting the exhibition "Climate emergency" together.

An interactive visualisation of our globe.

Working together!

The Paris Agreement, a big milestone
in climate change policy,
was discussed in the exhibition.

And, of course, the Come together! project team had the opportunity to visit some of the most interesting places in Paris. Together we walked through the Louvre, took a boat tour and enjoyed the fabolous French cuisine.

Im summary, we really enjoyed the Come together! meeting in Paris. Not only did we discuss important next steps and milestones, but we also grew together as a team further. As Come together! is an international project with partners from various countries, this aspect cannot be emphasized enough. The challenges we overcame will help us in conducting the future activities of the project.

Thanks to our wonderful hosts, the Come together! team had both a productive and good time when meeting at the Cité de Sciences et de l'industrie in Paris.

The happy project team at the end of the 3-day-meeting in Paris.

Feedback on the Online Training by the Come Together Project: Supporting Science Communication on Climate Issues for Socially Excluded Adults

On October 15 and 22, the Come Together European project team organized a first online training session: two days dedicated to give to professionals the keys and tools to design science communication activities on climate issues, specifically targeting socially excluded adults.

A Diversity of Profiles and Perspectives

Twenty-five participants from the five partners’ countries (France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Italy) joined the training. They represented three main professional backgrounds: science communicators, researchers, and social workers. This diversity was a key strength of the training, fostering rich exchanges and constructive discussions through the confrontation of different perspectives.

The challenge was significant: delivering an online training in English (a non-native language for most participants), to a group of people who had never met and came from varying professional contexts.

Some take-away messages that participants would share about the training

A Well-Balanced Structure to Encourage Exchange and Learning

To meet this challenge, the Come Together team designed a balanced format combining theory, practice, and self-reflection:

• Informal sessions to encourage participants to connect and build relationships.
• Small group activities to ensure everyone had the opportunity to speak, share experiences, and discuss projects.
• Plenary sessions to deliver theoretical input and set the stage for deeper discussions.
• Individual moments for participants to reflect and process their learning, accompanied by a collaborative playlist created specifically for these self-reflection times (available ici).

Collaborative playlist for self-reflexion time during the training

Topics Covered

Over the two days, the training addressed central themes at the intersection of climate issues and social inclusion:

• Inclusion: role-playing exercises and expert interventions helped participants better understand the specific needs of socially excluded audiences.
• Climate issues: how to encourage audience to take in action ? How to manage emotions related to climate change ?
• Bridging the two: each session was designed to show how to incorporate climate issues into inclusive approaches.

To visualize the training process, check out our 2-days program below.

Why Was This First Training a Success?

The feedback from participants speaks volumes:

• Practical tools were explored, and some participants have already begun using them in their own projects.
• Participants gained confidence and legitimacy to design and facilitate communication activities on environmental issues for socially excluded audiences.
• Training materials (documents, slides, collaborative murals) were rated as highly useful for learning.
• 100% of participants agreed that this training increased their motivation to lead inclusive educational actions on climate and environmental topics.

A Co-Created Training with Hub members

This training was developed through the collaborative efforts of the Come Together hubs across the five partner countries, who shared their needs and expertise over the past six months. A heartfelt thank you to them for their contributions!

What’s Next?

The feedback gathered during this first edition will help enrich the next step of the project: the organization of a national training session in each country. Stay tuned for this opportunity to further advance inclusive science communication on climate issues!

 

Co-creation workshop in Milano

The project partners gathered in Milan for a three-day co-creation workshop (July 16-18) hosted by the project's lead partner, the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology. We were joined by three hub members coming from Austria, Germany and France. The meeting was centered on designing the initial version of the international training program for scientists, NGO workers and educators who will conduct educational activities with and for the project's target groups.

Project team at the beginning of the meeting. 

Catherine Oualian, the trainer at Universcience,
facilitates the meeting.

Catherine Oualian and Fannie Le Floch, two excellent facilitators from our French partner, the science center Universcience, carefully prepared and conducted the co-creation workshop, which included lectures, discussions, and varied activities. We heard from three outstanding speakers who provided insight into the intertwining of two project topics: climate change and the engagement of various vulnerable social groups in these debates. 

Sociologist Clémence Perronnet introduced the concept of inclusion and emphasized that there are numerous factors that contribute to social group discrimination, such as race, gender, age, religion, class, and disability, that must be taken into account when planning educational activities.

Lorenzo De Vidovich, also a sociologist, addressed the question of social justice in energy use, focusing on the relationship between the social and environmental crises, as well as how energy transition initiatives may affect marginalized socioeconomic groups and geographical peripheries. 

Sandi Horvat, journalist, writer and representative of the Roma Academic Club from Slovenia, provided a very comprehensive overview of crucial factors to take into account when working with and for underprivileged communities.

We also learned about the Green Ethics project, which is being run by the University of Turin's Social and Community Theatre Center and the university itself. First, Alberto Pagliarino provided us with the theoretical framework of their work, and then we attempted some of the community theater's approaches ourselves, guided by Maurizio Bertolini.

Community Theatre Center's workshop with Maurizio Bertolini.

We also served as an audience for activities created and implemented in our respective organizations which benefited us in developing the international training program. Sarah Klemisch from the Ethnological Museum Berlin introduced us to the Speculative Design through imagining the future of our city and its resources. Balduin Landl and Constantin Holmer from the ScienceCenter-Network have tested the discussion game, as well as conducted a series of experiments to teach us about CO2. Fabrizio Stavola of the National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci" encouraged us to consider the complexities of the climate crisis by investigating the mechanisms of toy operation. Katarina Nahtigal and Tina Palaić from the Slovene Ethographic Museum presented the museum program of personal exhibitions created by various individuals and social groups, with a focus on collaboration with Roma communities in Slovenia.

         

Learning how the toy mechanisms work.

                          

CO2 experiments.

The majority of the meeting was spent planning the international training program, which we devised based on our professional knowledge and experience, as well as the skills, needs, wishes, and interests of the national hub members. We defined the critical themes we want to explore in the training, determined the pedagogical objective of the selected training sequences, and suggested a teaching techniques to achieve the goal. 

Working on the selected training sequences.

The two-day international training will be aimed at scientists, NGO workers, and educators who will be conducting educational activities with and for the project's target groups. It will be done online on October 15th and 22nd.

Dear hub members, thank you once again for your dedication and efforts. We look forward to continuing this journey together and making a meaningful impact.

Ecsite Conference 2024

The Come Together project team met in the beautiful city of Ljubljana at the beginning of the summer. The Ecsite Conference, which is a global meeting of science engagement professionals, was held there between June 5 and 8, 2024. The conference was hosted by Kersnikova Institute at the GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. The science engagement experts addressed many pressing topics: climate change, decolonisation, community work, equity and inclusion, digitalisation, envisioning futures and many more.

A Keynote Speech Body Alchemy by Ana Rajčević.

The conference program offered not only interesting topics, but also dynamic approaches to their consideration. In addition to excellent keynote speeches and vibrant community meet-ups, there were presentations and discussions, as well as more playful approaches, such as a climate misinformation gameshow, a storytelling on trial, a battle between experts on what makes a good exhibition brief, but also practical strategies for envisioning futures.

Engagement methods for promoting futures literacy.

On trial: Storytelling through scenography in science centers.

The Come Together project team hosted a workshop titled Fostering socially inclusive climate education for adults on Saturday, June 8. Our aim was to investigate ways to engage with communities with diverse interests and needs many of whom often don't feel concerned by climate change, and believe their voice is irrelevant in addressing these issues. Our goal was to learn and share varied experiences with adapting our programs to engage disadvantaged adults. With this, we looked at two interconnected Ecsite community challenges: the climate catastrophe and social inclusion.