Ilvies ry

Elin Kelsey / Developing Climate Change Communication with Emotional Awareness

The newly founded ILVIES: Climate and Environmental Communication Science Association has invited artist, environmental educator and communication specialist Elin Kelsey for the Lauttasaari Residence. The aim of the project is to develop climate change communication in Finland, facilitate dialogue between Kelsey and artists who work with climate change in Finland, and to strengthen international co-operation on related fields. Kelsey has exceptionally wide experience of working with various partners and methods, and dialogues with her will benefit numerous areas of Finnish environmental work. Kelsey herself is greatly interested about the recent developments in relation to eco-anxiety in Finland, and the residency will provide opportunities for mutual exchange. The eco-anxiety scholar Panu Pihkala will serve as the main host for Kelsey on the behalf of Ilvies. While the main aim of the residency is to develop the interdisciplinary field of climate communication, the project also includes research and encounters between artists and researchers. Kelsey has co-operated with many artists, and she is the author of several best-selling children’s books on environmental themes. The main method for interchange in the project is to organize two seminars with various audiences, with a mixed use of both live encounters and digital media. The themes of the seminars are climate change communication from a solutions orientation; hope, eco-anxiety and self-care; and art-based methods in climate education & communication. Ilvies has made agreements to co-operate with three existing projects funded by Kone Foundation in the organizing of these conferences. Since ILVIES currently has no funding and no hired personnel, the project will be highly important for the development and establishment of this new, high-level association. The estimated societal impact of the project is wide, supported by the numerous media contacts and networks that the Ilvies member have.