Sustainable Museums invited to present at University of Oslo on cultural institutions turning climate grief and anxiety into climate hope

TACOMA, Wash., Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Climate consultant Sarah Sutton has been invited to present at the University of Oslo on the topic of climate grief and despair - turning to hope. "Museums as 'contact zones' of climate research, education and activism" takes place in Oslo October 27 & 28, 2019.

The widening discussion of climate anxiety, grief and despair are a World health issue. In 2017 the American Psychological Association published Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance, noting that "The health, economic, political, and environmental implications of climate change affect all of us. The tolls on our mental health are far reaching.… To compound the issue, the psychological responses to climate change, such as conflict avoidance, fatalism, fear, helplessness, and resignation are growing. These responses are keeping us, and our nation, from properly addressing the core causes of and solutions for our changing climate, and from building and supporting psychological resiliency."

Cultural institutions' art, science and environmental exhibits and programs, public outreach and community action activities can be the source of climate hope for individuals and collective action and activism that create climate hope for the planet.

The workshop includes presentations by Molly Fannon, the CEO of the UN Live Museum and Nicole Heller of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The event is hosted by the University of Oslo and presented at the Botanical Garden and Natural History Museum in Oslo. Sutton will be introducing a call for research and action, and sharing emerging examples of museum work in this area.

The single most important role of museums and other cultural institutions is to help our communities thrive. A recent tweet by @MichaelEMann climate scientist says "The greatest threat I see to climate action is the paralysis that comes from disengagement, disillusionment, despair." Sutton says museums' opportunity and responsibility to address this issue is equal to their responsibility to address any other issues related to social and environmental inequalities, injustices, and community crises.

• Museums ready people to become critical thinkers engaged in their communities.
• They are already identified as trusted, safe space for the public.
• They are already spaces for healing after terrible national events or local disasters.
• They have invested in building skills to develop empathy among staff, visitors and the public.
• They have critical value as places for celebration and remembrance.
• They have shown their willingness to take on inequality, injustice, diversity, equity, access, and physical and intellectual and emotional challenges and disabilities.

The resources of museums, zoos, gardens, aquariums and historic sites provide access to art, nature, beauty, and learning. They help illustrate our humanity and our capabilities. They provide escape and respite. By acknowledging our human needs to express grief, anxiety and loss, then providing resources for healing and learning, and they sharing ways to take action - especially collaborative action that scale change - cultural institutions can support climate solutions. They can use their resources to replace grief with hope.

SOURCE Sustainable Museums