Climate Action arts project, Donegal ~ June 13-14

You are invited to take part in a Climate Action initiative in Gortahork, Donegal, that will be running concurrently with the 6th Guth Gafa International Film Festival, Donegal’s human rights and social change documentary event, under the banner of The SAM SESSIONS.

The Social Action Media (SAM) Sessions will be a cultural response to the issues of Climate Change, with Screenings, a Think-Tank and Web-hosted SAM Talks during the 6th Guth Gafa International Film Festival. You can be part of this important gathering of artists, filmmakers, musicians, campaigners and scientists aiming to make a difference.

The SAM Sessions are The SAM Think-Tank, SAM Speaks and SAM Art/Photo Exhibition. These initiatives are a cultural response to the magnitude of the issues of climate change, climate justice, and climate adaptation.

The SAM Think-Tank will be a two-day forum for climate scientists, artists, activists and others to look at ways of using media and the arts to educate, organise and ‘call to action’ people in Ireland to respond to the cultural, social and economic problems of Climate Change.

The SAM Speaks event will follow the tradition of the TED Talks, using media to inform and educate the public on significant issues facing society and the world. Artists, activists and experts will be invited to each present a 10 to 15 minute talk, song, or poem on the subject of Climate Change, which will be filmed and hosted on the Social Action Media Centre website.

The SAM Art/Photo Exhibition will be comprised of an international touring exhibition on Climate Change, alongside an exhibit of Donegal climate change photographs and works of art from artists who are part of the Centre, working with Gaeltacht school groups to capture images of the effect of climate change on the Donegal landscape.

The Centre for Social Action Media will be working alongside members of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition to create powerful partnerships, networking and training opportunities between Irish artists, writers, educators, scientific experts, ‘thinkers’, and media communicators. In this way, it is hoped to instigate and inspire the creation of works of significance and impact, and to encourage collaboration between skilled media practitioners, social entrepreneurs, and activists.

As well as our Training programme, The Centre plans to host exhibitions, events, arts and media projects in the North-West of Ireland with the aim to communicate, educate, and challenge people to take creative action on climate change, economic injustice, and other social problems in their own communities and nationwide.

For further info see http://www.samcentre.ie/.