THE versatile nature of climate change in its diversity, cross-cutting and trans-disciplinary ways, demonstrates equity and inclusivity especially to schoolchildren.
Children are very important stakeholders, hence they need to be situated at the heart of sustainable development because they are the future.
In their restless and creative nature, children should be groomed to contribute to climate action through the use of visual works of art.
Schoolchildren can be essential and trailblazing change-makers in the making, hence they need to be integrated in the visual art discourse community for them to participate in creative self-expression and innovations.
Children need to be guided to have a deeper understanding of climate issues through the fusion of climate visual art competencies as well as outward and intrinsic motivation tools.
What is normally regrettably absent in the usual climate interventions are climate feelings or the feeling for climate change which can be translated into daily lives.
These can be enhanced by harnessing climate visual art to have a direct impact on children’s attitudes, behaviours and beliefs.
Feeling for climate change enables the children to think about climate change, feeling about climate and participating in climate change action strategies.
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There is need to create a favourable atmosphere which governs and guides the way children live.
Visual climate art designed to improve climate knowledge and interventions can be used to have direct impact on human behaviours and attitudes.
The growing feelings of despair and hopelessness caused by climate upheavals can be presented and simplified by works of virtual art to inspire feelings of hope to strengthen the way these children view and visualise the world.
Through its versatile nature, art can be central and at the heart of climate communication and education. As children grow up, they need to understand how physically, environmentally and socially they are challenged in the world.
Using art to communicate climate change, interdisciplinary and in cross-cutting ways, will help to dispel the notion that climate change can only be taught through sciences.
Therefore, its transdisciplinary nature will assist children to have multifocal lenses through communities of practice like arts, social sciences, humanities, social anthropologies, ecology and indigenous knowledge systems, among others.
Through diagrammatic representations and pictorial modes, climate visual art, has the instrumental power to transform, children’s perspectives, standpoints and worldviews.
Since the works of climate visual art have direct impact on the children’s imaginations, they help to build sustainable character, transform their emotions and human behaviours.
In this regard, children will be prepared to fuse climate change in their art, in order to talk about climate change through art, express themselves in art through art.
The integrated works of climate visual art would contribute to critical thinking among children and nurture them as thought leaders of tomorrow.
This is aimed at preparing and empowering the children to address future climate-related challenges like droughts, moisture stress, deforestations, water scarcities, extreme heat and carbon emissions, among others.
The diverse forms of climate visual art will contribute to a climate informed and knowledgeable society, awareness raising and decolonising ways in which climate change is communicated and visualised.
This is important in strengthening proactive climate change ideologies and standpoints while at the same time overcoming inherent and militating stereotypes.
The impact of the climate visual art on human minds will help facilitate dialoguing, transform conversations and creative self-expressions in the spirit of humanism/ubuntu/hunhu.
This is important because climate change should not be dealt with in isolation, but it requires a human face much as it requires human activities to accelerate it.
There is no doubt that works of creative climate art are powerful tools of communication, which can also help to relate scientific issues in simple and human-centred ways.
These works of climate visual art become visual engagements that are paramount and cost effective.
This creative nature of art is bound to enrich the uninspiring climate narratives in ways that affect the sensory properties of learning.
Art can be multi-dimensional, and children love its beauty and refreshing atmosphere.
Visual climate art has the power to improve and shape climate narratives, while at the same time communicating and documenting climate problems and truths in inspiring ways.
- Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on: [email protected].
