Blog from Climate Café® Oulu Co-ordinator, Petr Stepanek
Photo credit: Maarit Pasanen / Valokuvaajatar.
Our Climate Café® Oulu, the northernmost Climate Café® in the world, has just turned one year.
How did it happen that there is a Climate Café® just a stone’s throw away from the Arctic Circle? In June of last year I joined an online seminar series called ”The climate crisis: A masterclass with academics, journalists and activists” organized by The Guardian newspaper. The event was co-hosted by Prof. Mark Maslin and featured a number of other interesting speakers.
The Masterclass was a great experience, with dozens of participants gathering together online to learn about the climate crisis and related topics. We quickly formed an online discussion group and started sharing ideas. During our chats the Climate Café® was mentioned. I got intrigued by it and started to look for other people in the city to get it off the ground.
Climate Café® Oulu Co-ordinators Petr Stepanek and Veera Juntunen.
Photo credit: Oulun ylioppilaslehti / Tuuli Heikura
It is symbolic that it was people who I met through a UK-based event, who made me think about establishing a Climate Café®, an idea which itself comes from UK. And despite more than a thousand miles between the British isles and us here on the edge of the Arctic, the idea of having a space to talk with other people is universal and transcends this distance with ease. It shows that no matter how far apart we are across the planet, we are in the same boat of working out of our current crisis and towards a better future. We can inspire one another even from afar.
And this is also the beauty and strength of Climate Cafés. They are infinitely replicable around the world. Although each Climate Café® happens in its own local community and connects local people, it also creates a palpable sense of being a part of a larger network. The knowledge that there are other Climate Cafés out there – each of them unique, but all working towards bringing more people together to join the movement for a sustainable society – is empowering. Imagine if every town, every district in every city, had a Climate Café®. How quickly could we mobilize, engage with one another, and create a shared vision of a better world?
Credits: TEDX Video / Photo/photos: Maarit Pasanen / Valokuvaajatar.
This is why I decided to put the story of our Climate Café® in a TEDx talk. Whether it is the sense of connecting and building a community with people in your own town, or the feeling of contributing your small part to the greater whole, joining a Climate Café® is a satisfying experience. I thought that sharing this story might inspire someone else to give it a shot. Although the idea for doing it through TEDx was not originally mine, but sprouted from a chance conversation, I am glad I took that opportunity. The talk has already inspired plans for new Climate Cafés elsewhere in Finland.
Over the past year of our Climate Café® we discussed many topics. We had the pleasure to welcome presentations from Christina Carlmark from The Climate Reality Project, Transition network founder Rob Hopkins, and most recently Mira Hulkkonen, climate scientist and author talking about the behavioural traps in reacting to the climate crisis. We also hosted a number of interesting contributions from our own community, speaking on topics as diverse as the role of land use in Finland in the climate change, potential uses of biochar, or practical aspects of using electric vehicles.
Perhaps the most importantly, we have created a new space for climate conversations, adding to the ecosystem of other groups present in the city in our own unique way. Now that the Climate Café® has established its presence here, we aim to become more proactive. As we enter the second year we would like to work towards creating connections to other organizations here in Oulu. We also aim to be more present in participation and organizing of various activities and events. Being a Climate Café® in a larger city it can be sometimes challenging to identify concrete actionable topics that could be addressed, as a large city has a lot of its own inertia. But we keep looking where we could provide some positive influence.
Reflecting on what led to the establishing of the Climate Café® here, I think the most important factor was talking with people, so that one can find others that share similar interests. I think that this is a way to catalyze the positive change we need – to get out there and chat with others. You never know what might sprout out of it.
Inspired?To get started and register a Climate Café® in your community, get in touch with the Climate Café® team on info@climate.cafe