Changemakers: Building Skills to Create Environmental Change
By Manushi Sharma, July 29, 2024
National Climate Fellow Manushi Sharma shares her experience presenting alongside teammate, Tony Passino, during the Natural Hazards Center's 49th Annual Conference.
Reflecting on the impactful Natural Hazards Center's 49th Annual Conference at the University of Colorado Boulder, where National Climate Fellows Tony Passino and Manushi Sharma proudly represented Change the Chamber. They co-led a training session on harnessing the power of storytelling for change and justice. Through an interactive exercise centered on personal narratives, participants developed essential skills in storytelling, visioning, coalition building, and communication.
A participant introducing themselves to the group
Tony Passino talks about Change the Chamber
The conference was a fantastic gathering of over 700 researchers and practitioners from around the world, all dedicated to mitigating natural disasters and fostering harmony with our environments, especially in the face of climate change. At this year's conference, there was a large focus on the role of storytelling as it relates to natural hazards.
Group Discussions
About the Session
Manushi and Tony presented on the changemaker training, where they led an activity that got participants thinking about how personal stories motivate their work as researchers and practitioners. Storytelling is a powerful tool. With the help of storytelling we can humanize environmental issues, engage and motivate audiences, simplify complexity, and leverage emotional impact. It transforms information in powerful calls to action, driving meaningful change.
This session saw a mix of participants - from researchers and practitioners to grad students studying geography and climate science from different regions North America, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Pacific Islands.
Participants shared stories. One participant shared a childhood memory of their grandparents house on a Caribbean island, where the garden was lost in a Tsunami and how the community helped build the neighborhood back. Another participant shared how the flooding of their favorite bookstore in Boston made them realize that the environmental crisis is a shared concern, affecting everyone.
The session highlighted that regardless of background, communicating through stories breaks barriers, fosters understanding, and propels collective action. Participants left the room feeling hopeful and enthusiastic about the future.
Session Feedback
As we move forward, integrating storytelling into our work will be crucial in addressing environmental challenges and driving sustainable change across the globe.
Change The Chamber is a nonpartisan coalition of over 100 student groups, including undergraduates, graduate students and recent graduates.