Earth Day Poetry Slam
A collaboration with the International Universities Climate Alliance, Climate Students Movement and the World Poetry Slam Organization
The problem
The effects of our rapidly changing climate are evident worldwide. Extreme weather events are occurring with increasing frequency. Already the climate crisis is affecting the ecological and socio-economic stability of our societies. We need higher education institutions to undertake urgent climate leadership to help us re-imagine life on earth.ÌýÌý
The project
The International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA) Poetry Slam and Climate Conference celebrated Earth Day 2023 with an international poetry slam festival, focussed on Re-imagining our world, which mobilised the power of storytelling to combat the contemporary climate crisis. It asked students, staff and community from universities across the globe to share their visions for a fairer, more sustainable world through slam poetry.
We believe we can re-write our future
Slam poetry is a form of performance poetry that does not conform to traditional poetic structures. It fuses theatrical and literary elements within an expressive, free-flowing form, transporting you directly into the poet’s world. Slam poetry is rising in international popularity.
The festival hosted workshops with experienced slam poets to develop participants’ skills and confidence in performance poetry and culminated in an international online poetry slam competition.
Students explored how we could reshape our lifestyles and consumption behaviours; how we could redirect climate justice to those dealing with the crisis’s worst effects; how we could re-imagine cultural, technological or local solutions, or even redefine life as an eco-civilisation. It empowered student dialogue on climate change through an event that was inclusive, friendly and fun.
The Poetry Slam and Climate Conference was part of the Innovation Hub’s ongoing partnership with IUCA. The top 20 slam poets were selected by the festival host organisers and posted to Instagram. The slam poets receiving the most likes were identified as finalists. Posters and recordings of the six competition finalists were exhibited at the Climate Museum in Hong Kong.
Extracts from the slam poetry finalists
