‘A better future is possible’: new creative climate anthology seeks to spark action through hope [Press release]

For immediate release: 14th January 2023

• Youth-led community group Create The Future have today launched a brand-new creative climate anthology which interweaves creative writing, poetry and artwork with expert interviews to answer the question ‘what does a better future look like, and how do we get there?’
• The anthology features a wide range of expert voices including academics, CEOs, educators, and changemakers, alongside prize-winning short stories and postcards produced by school children
• It is a call to action based on hope, rather than fear, and an invitation to rethink the future through creativity

As we move into a new year and look back on the outcomes of COP27, youth-led community group Create The Future is inviting readers across the globe to imagine a better world and learn more about how we can get there.

With a variety of content sourced from a global writing competition, a schools artwork competition, a graphic design workshop and more than 10 interviews with leading experts in multiple climate disciplines, ‘HOPE: Visions of a Better Future’ uses creativity and climate optimism to transform the climate crisis narrative from one of despair to one of hope.

A recent study revealed that 84% of young people are very or extremely worried about the climate crisis, an emotion associated with ‘perceptions of inadequate action by adults and governments, feelings of betrayal, abandonment and moral injury’. The relentless news cycle of climate despair can make us feel that there is nothing we can do and the worst case scenario is inevitable, leading to inaction. However, the HOPE anthology seeks to address this climate anxiety and tell a different story – a story where we have a choice.

Emma Turner, Create The Future co-founder, said: “The anthology is unique in that we don’t just want to tell the story of climate breakdown; we want to focus on a better future and the possibilities it holds for all of us, changing the narrative to one of hope and creativity rather than one of fear and destruction. Books have helped us to imagine futuristic technology-driven worlds and dystopian dictatorships – so what if they could help us to imagine the path to climate justice, too?”

The anthology is already available for free as a digital flipbook, with limited free copies of the print anthology available to community libraries and climate organisations.

About Create The Future

Create The Future is a UK-based and youth-led creative climate project that seeks to create a vision of a better future to empower action and inspire optimism through storytelling, education and imagination activities. Our work is based on the research of leading environmental communications agencies such as Climate Outreach and the Common Cause Foundation.

We run free activities and workshops for children, young people and adults, including creative writing workshops, poetry prompts and school activities. Our flagship ‘postcards from the future’ activity, an imaginative art and writing exercise for children aged 5-12, helps to combat eco anxiety by encouraging young people to imagine the future they want to see and send a postcard back to parents, teachers and community members.

Contact

Logos and other images available on request: anthology@createthefuture.earth