How is climate change relevant to me?
Sophia Walker is a BBC Slam Champion and an internationally renowned poet and teaching artist. She was commissioned by the United Nations to perform a piece on the human impacts of climate change at COP21.
SustainableUEA brought Sophia to Norwich and UEA as part of a wider ‘Voices from COP21’ programme at the University of East Anglia in December 2015.
The event was recorded, and the powerful poem itself is below:
Other former CHAIN events since June 2015
Organised by CHAIN unless otherwise stated
Norwich Climate Week
15-21 June 2015
- Monday, 15th June, Friends Meeting House - Film + Local speakers on what climate change means for us as Norwich residents and what we can do about it.
- Wednesday 17th of June, Houses of Parliament - London Climate Lobby: members of CHAIN met our MPs and talked to them about the required actions to tackle climate change.
- Thursday 18th June, Haymarket (marquee) - Films shown from United Nations, Live Earth & Years of Living dangerously; leafletting and discussion with public
Years of Living Dangerously, Series 1
Oct-Nov 2015
Live Earth Norwich - 24 hours of climate reality
13th & 14th Nov 2015
Climate March, London
29 Nov 2015
"Moving a Mountain"
2 Dec 2015
Film showing & public discussion event at UEA
Science Day and One Planet Weekend
Sat 12 & Sun 13 Mar 2016
CHAIN had stalls and played interactive educational games with children and all ages at The Science and Faith All Ages Day (Cathedral 12th), Science Day (Castle 12th) and One Planet Day (Forum 13th).
Also, on the Sunday, Dr Jo Veltman and James Graham introduced 'Fracking: Friend or Foe? All you Need to Know', a film and discussion in the Forum Auditorium.
5 Years of a Frack-free UK
21 May 2016
All day celebration/fundraising event at The Missing Shoe.
..at Magdalen Street Celebration
8 Oct 2016
At CHAIN's stall we displayed a large painting of Norwich-by-the-Sea!
Stop Barclays Fracking Week of Action
26 Oct onwards 2016
We maintained a presence outside Barclays bank, encouraging customers, and other passers-by, to sign a petition and/or letter objecting to Barclays ownership of fracking company Third Energy, which was aiming to drill in Ryedale, North Yorkshire.
'For the Love of', Haymarket stall
18 Feb 2017
Stall to tie in with the national For The Love Of campaign - leafletting/information, activities and talking with the public.
Earth Day, Stand Up For Climate Science
22 April 2017
All day event organised by CHAIN with input/stalls from Greenpeace, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, RSPB and Norwich Community Solar outside the Forum. Included guest speakers, some fantastic music from Norwich-based Samba musicians and a long roll-out time-line showing the last few thousand years of temperature - illustrating that the temperature increases of the last few decades are absolutely unprecedented.
Green Film Festival
3-6 May 2017
Co-hosted with Sustainability UEA, including films and speakers at the UEA Enterprise Centre. Included Climate Cafe and panel discussion 'Stand Up for the Earth: Environmental Advocacy in Film and Media' hosted by CHAIN.
...at the One Planet Festival
6-7 May 2017
Stall at Norwich City Council's annual environment themed event.
Speak Up Week: Write to your election candidates - Get serious about energy and climate change and stop damaging subsidies!
June & July 2017
Online campaign giving people the means and information to write to their MPs during the 2017 national election.
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
7 Aug 2017
Screening by Cinema City at which CHAIN had an information stall.
Years of Living Dangerously, Series 2
25 Oct-22 Nov 2017
CHAIN screened the second series at UEA, with guest speakers at each weekly event incl Dr Mayer Hillman.
Plan B Earth legal action
Dec 2017
Committee member and CHAIN founder Dr Jo Veltman joins other UK citizens in taking the government to court over failure to ally its climate change target with science or its legal obligations. Crowd funding campaign launched.
Local Planning & the Climate Challenge
22 Feb 2018
At Anteros Art Centre, Norwich: Panel event with brought together several speakers from different backgrounds to discuss how the forthcoming Greater Norwich Local Plan could address climate change.
(Wed 28 Feb, protest at North Sea Conference abandoned - we couldn't get there due to deep snow/extreme weather! The conference was also cancelled)
Plan B court hearing
20 Mar 2018
CHAIN members attended a demonstration, and the court hearing itself, supporting the Plan B court case at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The Clock is Ticking..it's time for Plan B
13 June 2018
CHAIN held a well-attended public meeting at Anteros Arts Foundation with guest speaker and Plan B Director, Tim Crosland. The meeting was chaired by Asher Minns of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
Following work with the press, the next day Radio Norfolk news led with the story of local doctor, Jo Veltman, being among those citizens taking the government to court. Jo and Asher Minns were interviewed and the radio station held on phone-in on climate change.
We demand a future! Plan B Climate Lawsuit
Wed 4 July
The CHAIN contingent did Norwich proud at the demonstration in support of the Plan B lawsuit at the Royal Courts of Justice. Most also attended the hearing (with a bus load of school children from Lowestoft also in attendance!)
Speak Up Week
1-8 July 2018
Online campaign in which CHAIN asked people to lobby their MP to do the following:
- sign the cross party letter asking the Prime Minister to set a net zero emissions target in line with the Paris Agreement;
- to pledge public support for the Plan B Climate Lawsuit;
- to support and sign the Early Day Motion by Caroline Lucas asking MPs to debate the downgrading of the Climate Change Act in the draft revised National Planning Policy Framework (the former status of the Climate Change Act in the NPPF was subsequently reinstated)
This page is being updated. For other information on our former events over the last year, please look at our Facebook page.