Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Tuesday 06 March
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Climate change is too often discussed in the abstract – in terms of graphs, statistics and future projections. For an evening at the Athenaeum Theatre in March, we’ll present people who are already seeing, and living, the impact. They’ll share their stories, visions and ideas for the future.
We’ll hear moving words and performances from Marshall Islands spoken-word artist Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner and activist Ursula Rakova from Papua New Guinea as well as New York Times science writer Jim Robbins and Melbourne-based author and environmentalist Tony Birch.
What does climate change look like today, across the globe? How is it affecting the daily lives of people, plants and animals? What are the obstacles – in political systems and in language – that hinder change and can we overcome them?
Hear from each of our speakers, followed by a short group discussion and then Q&A. Let’s talk people, place and planet in the present tense.
Presented in partnership with WOMADelaide’s Planet Talks Programme.
Embiggen Books will be our bookseller at this event.
Featuring
Andi Horvath
Andi Horvath has been commenting on science and culture online, on air and on the go since she was let out of the lab. Ask her about her latest podcasting adventures. She was a science broadcaster on 3RRR for over 20 years, alongside appearances on ABC TV and radio. She has developed major exhibitions for Museum Victoria and lectured and trained researchers in communications and podcast training.
Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner
Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner is a poet and climate change activist from the Marshall Islands, who first came to international acclaim through her performance at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2014. Her first collection of poems, Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter, was released in 2017.
She co-founded the non-profit Jo-Jikum, dedicated to empowering Marshallese youth to seek solutions to climate change and other environmental impacts threatening their home islands, and her writing and performances have been featured by the likes of CNN, Democracy Now, the Huffington Post, NBC News, National Geographic, and the Nobel Women’s Initiative.
Jim Robbins
Jim Robbins has written for the New York Times for more than 35 years, as well as numerous other magazines including Audubon, Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian and Vanity Fair. He is the author of several books including The Man Who Planted Trees and Last Refuge: The Environmental Showdown in the American West.
Ursula Rakova
Ursula Rakova is a pioneer in Papua New Guinea’s environmental movement and international campaigner for the survival of her people and homeland. She is the Executive Director of Tulele Peisa, a local community organisation in Papua New Guinea trying to relocate small island communities affected by the impacts of climate change.
Ursula is also a strong advocate of human rights, has set up community schooling for young Bougainvilleans, and is a campaigner for the survival of her people. She was born on the Carteret Islands near Bougainville, a low-lying area currently threatened by rising sea levels.
Tony Birch
Tony Birch is the author of four novels, five short fiction collections, and two poetry books. His most recent book is the novel, Women and Children (UQP).
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