Fundamental issues of climate change were highlighted by 40 young people in a fantastic dance performance. Young ambassadors from 8 European countries were invited to Climate Camp Solingen, and at the end of the week, they organized three street actions related to climate change. The event was closed with a joint dance to raise awareness of biodiversity with the help of beetle-plate dancers.
Solingen.- The first international climate camp was held in Solingen, where young people from 8 countries worked together for a week on climate awareness. They will continue to cooperate in the future, as they know that saving the planet is a shared responsibility, and only together can the situation be resolved.
The ‘multi-species spaces’ program of Solingen was presented during the Climate Camp. The goal of the program is to achieve environmental justice with design insect-friendly spaces in the public urban area.
At the end of the Climate Camp, they organized three street actions to involve the citizens from Solingen. They painted a wall to draw attention to the personal responsibility of climate change. With this performance, they initiated a dialogue and started talking with passers-by about climate change. In closing, the inhabitants of Solingen were surprised by a joint dance.
“In most cases, messages focused on the negative consequences of climate change are used to draw people's attention to the topic by appealing to disaster, helplessness and fear. In the Game On project, we asked: what happens if we think of climate change as a strategic game? We are introducing a new method with playfulness and positive messages that we expect to give people the hope and encouragement to make a difference. Everyone understands dance, and it connects people; that is why we decided to do a performance that draws attention to biodiversity.” - said András Sztaniszláv, Head of Communications, Game On project.
Global warming and biodiversity appeared in the dance in the image of many, many colourful animals. Grasshoppers played music on the street, and ladybugs flew from flower to flower. Their dance represented biodiversity. However, the dance of the bugs became sadder and sadder as people left more and more rubbish on the “dance floor”. When some role models started to collect the garbage, it seemed a way out from the low point for them. At first, only a few beetles started to collect the trash, and later people got involved. Musical tone playing helped the performance. Banners appeared in the performance with subtitles related to environmental protection and global warming, such as:
- Wake up humans, we‘re endangered too
- I bet dinosaurs thought they had time too
- There is no planet B
- I would be less activist if you were less shit
- You‘ll die of old age, we‘ll die of climate change
- Planet over profit
One of the choreographers, Gyula Sárközy, said: that dance is one of the best forms of expressing their emotions and thoughts about global warming. Dancing can break through language barriers. In addition, several studies show that dancing together releases energies that make people involved stronger and happier while filling them with a sense of belonging to a group that is a very important and basic human need.
The project ‘Game on! Don’t let climate change end the game’ is an initiative of a consortium of 10 partners from 8 Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia) to activate the global youth and react to the existential threat climate change represents for the future of humankind. The project has been made possible thanks to the co-financing of the Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) mechanism.