Word in Edgeways: a creative pluralisation of climate change narratives

Climate change narratives are the overarching storylines and perspectives we collectively use to describe past, current and future experiences of climate change. As this project argues, one key characteristic of a climate change narrative is the power it holds as a representation of a whole, whereby the narratives of a certain phenomenon become a symbol of the global climate crisis, reducing detailed and complex phenomena to iconographic 'metonyms' (O'Neill, 2022).
This power is messy: at times useful, it can help present complex concepts succinctly and convey knowledge to enable action and increase agency. At other times, this power can be occlusive and serve capital-colonial paradigms that perpetuate environmental and social misjustice. This project takes the occlusive side of the power dynamic as the setting for the problem: it argues that the dominant climate change narratives generated in the Global North are not representative of an inclusive experience and fail to encompass and critically interrogate perspectives beyond the heteronormative 'kyriarchy' of the Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) (Henrich et al., 2010, Osborne, 2015, Schussler Fiorenza, 1992).
This project develops novel participatory methods through engagement with decolonial theory and digital and creative geographies. The "field"work will take place remotely through online workshops focusing on climate change narratives associated with Lake Chad. The dominant narrative in relation to Lake Chad is one focused on shrinkage and struggle. The research will invite participants to diversify, pluralise and rewrite Lake Chad's narratives using their own experiences as a form of worldmaking. This project is working in collaboration with Eden Project, UK, who have previous involvement with Lake Chad through a UNESCO project, and WenakLabs, a community digital hub based in N'Djaména.