The Creative Climate Leadership Podcast

In this bonus episode, show producer Diego Galafassi, host of the Creative Climate Leadership program Sweden and Scandinavia, speaks to Emmanuella Blake Morsi, host of the 6-part series podcast.

Emmanuella Morsi (aka Emma Blake Morsi) 

With over a decade in the creative industry, Emmanuella Morsi is an award-winning multi-disciplinary arts producer, Non-Executive Director of Rising Arts Agency, and former Bristol City Council Culture Board member. She challenges approaches to inclusion and innovation in the spaces she works, producing work that can be experienced by all but most importantly gives visibility to and engages those from marginalised groups. Emmanuella is an alumnus of Creative Climate Leadership UK (2023).

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Climate change disproportionately affects different communities, and the fight for justice in the face of this crisis is essential. In this first episode host Emmanuella Blake Morsi speaks to Julie’s Bicycle’s Farah Ahmed and academic and activist Vasna Ramasar for a deep dive into how practitioners, artists and activists use their talents and platforms to raise awareness and advocate for climate justice.

Farah Ahmed
Farah is the Climate Justice Lead at Julie’s Bicycle and also a facilitator on the Creative Climate Leadership programme. Their interest lies in how art and culture can centre perspectives from the frontlines of climate impacts, and how we can imagine and build meaningful decolonial, care-centred, and anti-capitalist communities. Farah is also co-founder and facilitator of Diaspora Futures, and a trustee for Platform London.

Vasna Ramasar
Vasna is a senior lecturer in the Division of Human Ecology and program director for the Culture, Power and Sustainability international Masters at Lund University, Sweden. She/ they engage feminist and decolonial approaches to research in environmental and social justice and finding alternatives to destructive development paradigms. She is also a member of the Collective Against Environmental Racism in Denmark, Global Tapestry of Alternatives, and Women Against Harmful Extractivism in Africa network.

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Host Emmanuella Morsi speaks to activist and artist Jessica Sim and communications professional Yula Rocha about using research and data to understand the attitudes and behaviours of their audiences, and creating impactful and effective campaigns.

Jessica Sim
Jess is an activist and artist who is passionate about ecology, and committed to developing creative communication methods to inspire more mindful living. She established the Museum of Garbage with FLYING roots, co-founded Circuit Istanbul and Nadas Istanbul – organisations that focus on establishing community spaces that foster nature connection through creative programming. Jessica is an alumnus of CCL Creative Europe Wales (2017).

Yula Rocha
Yula is a journalist and communications manager at People’s Palace Projects, where she works with artists from the Xingu Indigenous Territory and favelas of Rio de Janeiro. She produced the first Indigenous Film Festival at the ICA and an arts installation at Venice Architecture Biennale and has chaired climate and arts events at Chatham House and for Chevening scholars. Yula is an alumnus of CCL UK (2023).

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Podcast host Emmanuella Morsi speaks with documentarian, campaigner and activist Syed Jazib Ali about what is needed to build authentic narratives, campaigns and projects that are both moving and high-impact.

Syed Jazib Ali
Jazib is a documentarian, campaigner and activist hailing from the indigenous Pahari tribe of the lower Himalayan region of the politically and ecologically sensitive Jammu and Kashmir. His award-winning documentaries and advocacy work are globally recognised, amplifying the stories of the underrepresented. His creative projects have been part of COP26, COP27 and he has worked with international NGOs, Think Tanks and United Nations organisations. Jazib is an alumnus of CCL Benelux (2023).

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Host Emmanuella Morsi discusses the relevance of emerging technologies and creative tech in framing climate issues in a way that inspires meaningful action with artist, writer, educator and activist Alistair Gentry. 

Alistair Gentry
Alistair is an artist, writer, producer and educator in creative writing, performance, live and participatory art. He has been an activist in artists’ livelihoods and wellbeing for about 15 years, with particular focus on LGBTQ+, disabled, low income background and self-taught artists and leaders. He has collaborated extensively with scientists and technologists, particularly in the social sciences. Alistair is an alumnus of CCL UK (2023).

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Emmanuella Morsi explores what cultural policy is, its significance, and how it can influence societal change and play a role in social change, supporting us to reach our climate goals – with academic Solveig Korum and relations manager and cultural producer Rie Alkemade.

Rie Alkemade
Rie is a project and relations manager and a cultural producer with a keen interest in the creative artistic and cultural fields, and is a Project Officer for the Cultural Relations Platform. Her focus and passion has been primarily on cultivating sustainable partnerships and networks at a people-to-people level through fostering intercultural dialogue and exchanges based on mutual co-collaboration. Rie is an alumnus of CCL Benelux (2023).

Dr Solveig Korum
Solveig is an academic who works as an advisor for culture and sustainability at the R&D department of Kulturtanken – Arts for Young Audiences Norway. She is the co-founder of NaCuHeal Senegal, an NGO that operates tree-planting programs in West Africa and teaches Kundalini yoga at University of Oslo. Solveig is an alumnus of CCL Scandinavia (2022).

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In the final episode, host Emmanuella Morsi hears from design consultant Dr Sarah Suib and artist-researcher Dr Jen Rae about the transformative power of the arts in addressing climate change, and how we can draw from sustainable practice and indigenous and nature-informed wisdom from our past to inform contemporary strategies.

Dr Sarah Suib
Sarah is a consultant and the founder of Hint Studio, Brussels. She is also a designer and mender with years of experience in sustainable design and product development projects, user experiences, cleaner productions, ESG research, and frugal innovations. Her expertise lies in design thinking, design for sustainability, user research, and the circular economy. She works with small and medium sized companies to integrate sustainability and circularity strategies in their products and practices. Sarah is an alumnus of CCL Benelux (2023).

Dr Jen Rae
Jen is an award-winning artist-researcher whose practice-led expertise is situated at the intersections of art, speculative futures and climate emergency disaster adaptation and resilience. Her work is predominantly articulated through transdisciplinary collaborative methodologies and multi-platform projects, community alliances and public pedagogies. Jen is Co-founder and Creative Research Lead at the Centre for Reworlding, a member of the Australian Task Force for Creative Recovery and a 2023 Creative Australia Fellow. Jen is an alumnus of CCL Australia (2023).

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