Culture for Climate is a grassroots initiative aimed at greening the cultural sector. The group consists of 9 women: employees of cultural institutions, NGO's and independent artists and curators.Our aim is to promote pro-environmental attitudes. We believe that our activities will contribute to indispensable changes in regulations in culture field. Culture for Climate is also a collectively built knowledge resource which was collected in a form of ecological guide with free access.
National
Poland
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As an individual in partnership with other persons
First name: Anna Last name: Czaban Gender: Female Nationality: Poland Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Kaweczynska 22 app.22 Town: Warsaw Postal code: 03772 Country: Poland Direct Tel:+48 501 592 629 E-mail:kulturadlaklimatu@protonmail.com Website:http://cultureforclimate.pl
Culture for Climate is a grassroots voluntary organisation (currently) consisting only of women - employees of cultural institutions, NGOs, local authorities and independent artists and curators. This was not a programmed founding principle but the eco-feminist character is revealed in the philosophy of the collective based on cooperation, mutual help and building trust. We focus on "ecological transformation" in the culture field, aimed at supporting cultural practitioners in implementing pro-environmental changes in their work. It is the first initiative of its kind in Poland, where a comprehensive knowledge and instructions on how to transform (step-by-step) the cultural field are collected in the form of a guide (available free of charge on the website). However, this locally developed knowledge, taking into account different cultural contexts, can be applied in other countries as well as it has high potential for transferability and replicability. In this regard we have collected many examples of ‘good green practices’ from around the world, we had set up networks to exchange ideas, last but not least the website & guide were translated into English.
In other words, we offer knowledge about "green strategies" and experience of how to implement changes in the organisations. In contrast to other similar initiatives our aim is to combine environmental and social factors. Our values draw from feminism, intersectionality and the degrowth movement. We understand the transformation of the cultural field as a holistic process including not only resource management, but mainly on conscious choices regarding balanced organisation of work, sustainable programming, equal and transparent employees rights, collaboration with social economy organisations, supporting climate movement and lobbying for clear political agenda about acting against worsening both environmental and social consequences of the climate crisis.
promotion of green practices in cultural field
reinventing the meaning and impact of art to make it more sustainable and pro-enviromental
providing ecological advocacy in the culture field
enhancing cultural practitioners to strengthen the global climate movement
promoting ethical and fair working conditions among cultural practitioners
Art and culture are not privileged. They are equally entangled in the global economy based on excessive exploitation of natural resources, dynamic distribution of goods and high mobility. Like other areas of human activity, culture has to face the ecological crisis challenge to radically change the notions, practices and habits that currently define our reality.
Our key objectives are: to reinvent the meaning and impact of art to make it more sustainable and environmentally oriented, enhance cultural practitioners to strengthen the global climate movement, provide ecological advocacy in the culture field, and promote green practices, last but not least promote ethical and fair working conditions among cultural practitioners, artists and collaborators at the same time lobbying for cooperative and social economic ideas.
Our main areas of activities are: workshops, facilitations, green advocacy, development of long term and short term ecological strategies, networking, collecting and publishing data and information.
Art has the great potential to promote green/ecological practices and it can reach various and broad audiences, moreover it possesses different tools to work with for example: cultural education, community based projects, high-end artistic events, last but not least it can be promoted and supported by famous artists, actors who often have high public trust.
We aim at providing high-end quality, eco-oriented experience, based on horizontal educational relations.
Our activities are aimed at two main target groups. First of all widely understood cultural practitioners (art curators, producers, managers, promotion and communication teams but also technical crews and administration staff). The second very important group are the culture audiences - local communities gathered around cultural centres and the broader public of art.
We truly believe that culture can be a first harbinger of ecological changes, it can shape positive models for action, and increase overall well-being for both individuals and communities. While we enhance the cultural practitioners to strengthen the global climate movement, through them and their actions we can enhance their audiences.
That is why we see our role in promoting eco awareness in the organisations.The first step on the way to greater sustainability of the institution starts from recognizing and strengthening the ecology of relations between employees, fostering the sense of belonging through integrating new enduring ‘good practices’. We encourage them to integrate and build coalitions inside and outside organisations - networking with similar institutions to share the knowledge and resources and to support each other in lobbying for green transformation in the whole culture sector. We show by our example that grassroots initiatives can put pressure on management structures.
When it comes to the audiences: culture provides space for discussion, critical thinking and brave and experimental actions. Through meaningful art experiences such as performances, concerts, research, communication, exhibitions and educational activities we can build awareness of the climate and ecological crisis and promote new sustainable ways of working and functioning.
Accessibility, affordability and inclusiveness are some of the main objectives we want to take care of in our work. There are so many essential tasks at the intersection of ecology and culture that it may seem overly difficult and complex. The myth that ecology has to be expensive is also still very much alive. However, a lot of the solutions are simple, based to a large extent on changing one’s habits. It is not without reason that ‘the first step’ in our guide, which concerns examples of changes ‘available at one’s fingertips’, contains the most recommendations. The greening of culture does not mean introducing all the changes perfectly and at once. It is worth starting with potential changes which we have direct influence on and then successively implementing others.
While creating our internet guide, our ultimate priority was to make the guide as accessible as possible with a low entry threshold. That means that we wrote it in simple understandable language - texts have been subjected to special accessibility editing. Moreover the site has been programmed for people with low vision and other impairments. The website was designed to leave the smallest possible carbon footprint.
In our collective work we try to address inequalities in the cultural sector regarding the payments, labour rights and symbolic capital through promoting work organisation which is inclusive, transparent and it aims towards self-organisation. We address market-driven relations by promoting social organisations and grassroots initiatives as the most suitable partners. Last but not least we address consumerism by encouraging organisations and individuals to share their knowledge and skills in the spirit of a gift economy.
The guide has become one of the most important sources of knowledge in the local Polish community, many workshops and discussions have been held on this material (among museums, libraries, community centres, independent artists). In many cultural institutions and organisations, individuals have found the motivation to set up green teams in their workplaces and encourage employers to make pro-environmental changes.
Thanks to the guide and our activity, changes in Poland are occurring faster in municipal policies regarding green regulations for the cultural industry (municipal and local policies are often the only level of top-down influence in the face of climate-sceptical policies of the Polish government). Thanks to our efforts, the Warsaw City Hall has introduced provisions in city competitions for institutions and NGO's about the eco-friendliness of the project, and the need to take into account the reduction of environmental impact in proposed programs in competitions for directors in local institutions.
The Green Declaration on our website was signed by more than 70 organisations, in which they obligate themselves (among others) to care for the local ecosystem: natural, social, economic; strive to reduce the environmental footprint at work and limit the use of resources, give up overproduction and promote sharing economy.
In 2022, we led 5 ecological workshops for a total of 50 employees from 9 cultural institutions from Masovian district, moreover workshops for culture professionals on the Summer School "Towards perma-cultural institutions. Exercises in collective thinking” in Schoppingen (Germany), workshops and lecturers for librarians at the All-Poland Congress of Libraries and art students from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Our work is supported by the Culture Department of the City of Warsaw and a European association specialising in climate change -Climate-KIC. It is through combining these forces that we see an enormous opportunity in delivering real systemic changes to the model of the culture sector’s operations.
In 2022, we received a grant (3.000 euros) from the Culture Department City of Warsaw to carry out ecological workshops in cultural institutions in Masovian district. Moreover, Nowy Teatr International Cultural Center in Warsaw supported us when we were creating the website and our guide by helping us with IT issues, providing space for meetings and workshops. We have also got great support from Mazowiecki Instytut Kultury (Masovian Cultural Institute) who provide us their venue for the workshops free of charge.
Last but not least, since we decided not to use tools such as facebook, instagram etc. in order not to produce more CO2 by creating new social media accounts, we made a coalition with many polish cultural institutions to promote our eco guide through their social media. We received great media coverage - more than 22 cultural institutions (among them Goethe Institut Poland or Earth Strike) placed information about our initiative on their websites & social media as well as sent out newsletters to their recipients. The information about ‘Culture for climate’ eco guide was displayed on multi-format screens in 6 cities in Poland, moreover, the Culture Department of the City of Warsaw provided information on the screens in the subway and public transport.
Since, few months we are in the process of establishing an international network of ecological organisations/practitioners working in the field of art, to be able to share the knowledge and good practices we have collected so far. We try our best to promote our initiative Culture for climate on a national and international level, as we want to form alliances to gain better visibility and call for action.
The areas of culture ecology discussed in Culture for Climate guidebook concern technological aspects (buildings and infrastructure, ICT, conservation), the impact of our behaviour on the environment (daily habits, environmental impact), introducing environmentally-friendly methods for conducting cultural activities (materials, event production, sustainable promotion), responsibility for staff wellbeing (employees), cohesive cooperation with external entities (finances, eco-ethics of cooperation), responsibility for the surrounding ecosystem (good neighbourliness, local natural environment), as well as advocating for climate and attitude forming (programme, communication, institutional policy), the potential for mutual organisation and cooperation (green teams, networking) and strengthening internal self-reflection and systematic evaluation (environmental audit).
Representatives of different cultural areas worked on the content of the digital guide: theatre, museums, galleries, NGOs, culture officers as well as experts in the fields of sustainable construction or green IT. As a result, the guide has a high impact of content and adaptability to different organisations/institutions. In the guide were reflected interest and the search for practical solutions, not just discursive ones - embedded in the authors' many years of interdisciplinary experience. A graphic designer worked on the site together with a UX-experience person to ensure that the site and guide content were not only aesthetically pleasing, but also user-friendly, which means, it has been based on universal design principles, so as to be accessible to all in the widest possible range and energy efficient, which means is hosted by a data centre which uses electricity from renewable sources.
We usually encountered eco-guides that were created to order for large authorities, at the same time with a high level of generality. Our initiative has a grassroots and voluntary character - it was founded by nine female employees of culture institutions and organisations with the ambition of impact and structural influence, changing institutional and urban policies.
The approach to the subject of ecology in our collective, as reflected in the guide, is characterised by a holistic attitude, which means: bringing together scattered knowledge, combining experiences and sources from other European countries with a special focus on the local aspect of the challenges of the cultural area in the context of Poland, Central and Eastern Europe. Previously there was no such initiative in this area. Our goal was to combine the separate activities: the environmental movement and cultural policy.
Unlike various other ecological guides or reports that deal with culture and which, due to their complexity and extensive knowledge, may seem more difficult to access, we have set out to simplify the message as much as possible. In addition, we focused on a low threshold of entry and graphic clarity to encourage as many people as possible to read the information. We want to promote environmentalism without shaming, in a simple way of 3 easy steps, which are available without large financial investment.
The methods of work developed by the Culture for Climate collective are transparent and can be replicated or transferred by other groups/collectives/initiatives focused on some important process of change. Interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, equal and discriminatory collaboration in the spirit of solidarity are qualities and values around which we centre and build our community and try to disseminate them among our followers on workshops, debates, meetings and our website.
We are also an inspiration for such groups as Film for Climate, which was formed a year later and inspired by our guide, who prepared extensive guidelines on how to minimise carbon footprint in film productions. We were an inspiration for a Turkish group - Esmiyor Turkey, whom we advised on how to set up a grassroots ecological collective.
We had feedback that recommendations from our eco guide are actually implemented in the activities of particular culture institutions in Poland. Moreover, candidates for directors of cultural institutions in Warsaw wrote the eco guide to their programmes as a road-map of ecological institution.
During workshops we encourage people to create green teams in their organisations, who have the task of being a provocateur of ecological change in the organisation and prepare the ground for its introduction. This model initiates the transformation we were able to replicate in many culture institutions in Poland with contextualisation to local conditions.
Our aim is to promote pro-environmental attitudes without shaming and making accusations that what is done is insufficient or inadequate. We believe that in the face of the urgency of the challenges associated with the climate catastrophe it is better to begin taking action however modest it may be, rather than do nothing. We deeply believe in individual and collective agency and that it is possible to implement changes in areas, which we can influence, while at the same time trying to expand those boundaries, combining common efforts. We are convinced that when it comes to pro-environmental practices, one should start with oneself.
Our approach to matters of ecology in the field of culture is multi-level and long term. We regard institutions as organisms consisting of interconnected and interrelated areas, which also constitute a part of a wider ecosystem.
The model of Culture for Climate activity presumes collective authorship, cooperation and horizontal structure of work and interpersonal relationships. We are oriented on the process of change (not the final goal), which is integrated into the way of functioning of the institution/organisation or artistic activity of people. We believe that real and long lasting change needs time to solidify in human consciousness and reality and it can’t be imposed (only) from above. Behind every change is a team that understands the needs of the institution. In our undertakings we emphasise the significant value of interdisciplinary inter-sectoral work and the power of solidarity.
Scenarios for our workshops are based on peer-to-peer and anti-discriminatory education methods. As a collective we undertake major decisions in a consensual way and we try to act according to the rules of the sociocracy model. This kind of approach and methods we promote among our followers.
The challenges facing the world are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990) and to achieve full climate neutrality by 2050. As surveys say (see: Eurobarometer, European Commission, 2021), many people in Poland are aware of the climate change problem and its consequences for the environment as well as the future of our planet. However, compared to other EU countries, fewer people perceive the climate crisis as the most serious problem facing the world, and few are willing to change their consumption habits to reduce their environmental footprint. Since the decisive environmental regulations aren't unfortunately on the priority list of our country, environmental education and social awareness-raising need to be supported and developed by institutions or NGOs operating in these contexts. The cultural field plays a crucial role since it influences not only the internal circle of employees but also the wide audiences by promoting ideas and attitudes. This gives the cultural sector a significant opportunity to contribute to pro-environmental efforts, not only in the production process but also in encouraging responsible attitudes through the content it creates. The "Culture for Climate" is about support for local & regional players, however, we want to provide international exchange of knowledge, network support in the development of recommendations, since we believe that looking at pro-environmental goals broader than the interests of one organisation or one country is crucial.
So far, the biggest achievement of the Culture for Climate collective was collecting scattered knowledge and sharing it through an accessible to everyone guide on the website www.cultureforclimate.pl. Pararelly, we conducted workshops and lecturers with different groups of art and cultural practitioners to help them implement/exercise practical recommendations from the guide and to support finding accurate solutions in their home institutions/organisations or their professional practices taking into account specific local context. We were awarded on a local level by the Warsaw Programme of Culture Education in 2021.
the development plan for future years is to:
update the guide and the website: knowledge in this area is constantly being produced and updated, so the guide also needs to keep up with reality. It’s like a ‘live library’ model.
continuing the workshops for employees of culture institutions and organisations
kick off the series of workshops in Art Academies for art students groups - young artists, designers, curators, and art producers to promote pro-environmentally thinking at the beginning of their professional career
networking with other collectives and organisations to exchange the knowledge and methodologies
create a bigger forum/platform (international conference) for art practitioners of different fields together with environmental activists and educators to exchange the knowledge and form alliances to change the system together
As employees of institutions we can see for ourselves that the relationships we create influence the wellbeing of the neighbourhood and the environment. The same dynamics apply within an institution. The way work is organised, what kind of relationships are in place, what values the team is built around, how problems are approached, how decisions are made – all these elements influence the institution’s environmental performance. In other words, an ecologically mindful institution cares about the wellbeing of its employees, fair terms of employment and remuneration, anti-discriminatory policies and an atmosphere engendering respect and responsibility.
