ENACT explores how stories and the emotions they evoke shape young people’s actions towards a sustainable future.
Students from the project worked alongside creative writers and illustrators.
The first 5 stories of the project will be published here soon.
About the project
In the age of ecocide, the world seems to be stuck in inherited logics of accumulation and growth. There is a recognition that we must shift the paradigm towards degrowth, collective intelligence, and collaboration in order to resist the gravest consequences of human-induced climate collapse.
Locally based practices and stories are essential in the pursuit of these goals, as is language and the possibility to imagine and articulate emotions beyond the arch of fear and hope.
Research has consistently shown that for behavioural change to last, the iteration and persistence of the message is key.
Educational settings can facilitate the continuation of this work through pedagogical interventions that can be integrated into the curricula and worked on with students over the year, if not years, to come.
Co-constructing knowledge across generational and geopolitical divides and
working with a diverse student population will fulfil the civic mission of the project:
The empowerment of youth for resilient, greener futures.
ENACT is a MASI (Morgan Advanced Studies Institute) funded, transdisciplinary project based at Swansea University, Wales. The team is comprised of cultural analysts, literary scholars, education practitioners, pedagogues and psychologists, who are creating a blueprint for understanding the effects of different narratives on young people’s sense of agency, their emotions and actions within the context of the global climate crisis.