In times of crisis, it can be difficult to rally support for any particular cause. While the climate movement seemed all-encompassing before the pandemic, it has been difficult to build momentum since then. This year has been no exception with the war in Ukraine continuing as a slow burning tragedy and the October 7th attacks early on in the academic year and its subsequent war in Gaza.

The current multiple crises are also an opportunity to learn about the complexity of injustice, and we recognise the importance of focusing on what gives the climate movement strength – building community and learning from each other.

Together with Guy Zilberman, I led the Oxford Climate Society a dedicated team of volunteers that champion student-led climate education, for this past academic year. To generate new momentum and engagement across the university, we co-organised two ‘Planet Art’ events this year in collaboration with the Edgar Wind Society, The Anthroposphere Magazine, and the Oxford Tamil Society. These events proved to be enormously popular and a positive space for sharing experiences of climate change. Poetry readings, original music, discussions on art, short films, and finally, dancing together made these events a celebration of climate hope. Among all the brilliant art it is hard – and possibly unfair – to pick just one of those that presented. However, I will mention the short film directed by Karolina Uskakovych, visiting her grandmother and her garden in war-torn Ukraine. This was an excellent example of how growing your own food is an act of resistance. Karolina also does the art for the Anthroposphere magazine and is one of the unsung heroes of the climate movement in Oxford.

Together with the Environmental Sustainability Team and the SU, OCS re-launched the Climate in the Curriculum campaign which intends to empower lecturers, tutors, and students to discuss environmental, sustainability, and climate in existing degree courses. Again, we can take strength from coming together across the university and discussing climate issues in all spaces. I believe that only if we understand how climate change and ecosystem collapse impact all aspects of our lives from engineering to politics, to our understanding of history, can we really begin to solve the problem. In this conviction, I hope the campaign can make us all that bit more climate-savvy.

With all the events OCS puts on every week, there is ample opportunity for us to come together to learn about climate change and its intersections with society. This past year has taught us, how powerful these student-led spaces are. As my term as co-president comes to an end, I can only encourage all students to make use of the university as a space for learning, not just top-down but also a space to organise our own learning.




References
Uskakovych, K. (no date) Karolina Uskakovych. Available at: https://karolinauskakovych.com/ (Accessed: June 2024).