KAMPALA

In Kampala there is a burgeoning climate movement developing in the context of communities who are feeling the first-hand effects of climate change and biodiversity depletion. The African Visual Artists Association hosted The Great Imagining’s first activation outside the UK and the event saw an arts exhibition by local artists from Kampala and the wider East African region; there were discussions around sustainability in urban planning; as well as a tying up of a series of workshops which have taken place over the course of the last two months including a course in repurposing textiles to weave into bags, tapestries and artworks. Father Berry, a representative of the Vatican on Ugandan climate conversations, attended and is in conversation with the Vatican about the success of the day. The network’s community leaders, Ssembatya and Brian, used the event to emphasise their message that we need to artists - and the imaginative capacity that they have - to lead a transformation towards a more sustainable future, with local television networks broadcasting their interviews and ideas over the weekend. The Earth Day event was run in tandem with agroforestry projects in Tororo, Eastern Uganda where organisation Ayowecca Uganda are on a mission to plant trees which bolster the local environment whilst providing a space for education for women and children in the communities. This activation inspired young people in the UK and is now creating active partnerships with UK based education charities and initiatives.