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Edinburgh Climate Festival

Investment project code: 30

Estimated Price

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Description

The Edinburgh Climate Festival is a community event that has been running since 2016. The purpose of the festival is not only to raise awareness of the climate crisis but also to celebrate climate action being taken to create a more just and ecologically sustainable world. Raising awareness is not enough, especially as many people are left feeling so hopeless in the face of such a global challenge that it becomes paralysing to climate action. It is therefore necessary to add this positive element to demonstrate that effective change is possible. 

The festival is a free, full-day community event that is inclusive and family-friendly and is themed around environmental sustainability-related topics such as active travel, energy efficiency, and waste reduction. It will benefit attendees through a range of educational and entertaining activities. There will be stalls, workshops, storytelling, yoga, demos, and performances that aim to empower people to develop more ecologically sustainable lifestyles, reduce their carbon emissions, and ensure that the change needed at all levels happens. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in several activities, such as arts and crafts activities, quizzes, and other events that will educate them in various practical skills. These include reusing and upcycling household items and repairing bikes. Through these activities, attendees will have the chance to be entertained while being educated and empowered to live sustainably.

An inclusive event, the Climate Festival also brings together and integrates Edinburgh’s diverse communities. Our staff and volunteers include people who are representative of these communities and people with disabilities, giving us first-hand experience and knowledge of additional barriers posed to these groups in the transition to Net Zero. As an equality council, ELREC is well suited to bring together these communities; our objectives centre around eliminating discrimination, reducing inequality, building positive relations between people of protected characteristics, and promoting sustainability. In doing so we promote cooperation between government and third-sector organisations to increase the impact of our work. In 2014, the Communities for Conservation project was established and worked with ethnic minority communities in the Edinburgh area to reduce carbon emissions from energy, food, waste, and transport. Current projects such as the Communities’ Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle project continue to raise awareness among diverse communities.

Through volunteer involvement and advice on how to take local, grassroots action, this event promotes community leadership. We hope to engage over 30 volunteers who will pass on skills to their communities. The Climate Festival acts on its principles, running sustainably using renewable energy and producing zero waste, which should encourage attendees to consider how they themselves can reduce their emissions. 

While successful, previous reliance on volunteers created some new challenges for the operation of the festival. This year’s festival would use the funding to cover the expenses of the event itself and to employ staff who can better dedicate themselves to organising the event, ensuring its smooth operation.

 

Location: 14 Forth Street EH1 3LH

Proposed on behalf of: Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council is a well-established charity, with longstanding experience in campaigning for Human Rights and equality, providing support to people of protected characteristics, and influencing relevant policies. We are a well-known hub for volunteering, offering a diverse range of roles and training. Staff and volunteers at ELREC are from very diverse cultural and language backgrounds. Alongside our current project work, we provide support and advice to BAME communities on any issue. We have an established link to mainstream service providers to access hard-to-reach people from ethnic communities and signpost them to their services. We have also active and strong links with Police Scotland, Scottish Government Equalities Unit, Edinburgh Inter Faith Association and local councillors, MSP's who strongly support the organisation and its work. ELREC ran various successful environmental projects which have given unique opportunities to strengthen our ongoing work with communities on issues of climate change, carbon emissions, and energy efficiency.

• Build relationships between neighbourhoods
• Community Leadership and Learning
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions