Inspiring Hope for Creation at Marmalade Festival

On Thursday 11th April 2024 we hosted a workshop titled Inspiring Hope for Creation as part of Marmalade Festival, a breakout conference to the Skoll World Forum that focuses on social change of all kinds.
Due to the international nature of the conference we were thrilled to host participants from charities and environmental organisations based as far afield as Australia. The interactive workshop was facilitated by our founder, Rev Canon Dr Charlotte Bannister-Parker with our patron Esther de Waal as an additional guest speaker and contributions from the rest of the H4C team.

The 2-hour workshop was structured around the cornerstone concept of the Four Acts, resulting from Charlotte’s PhD research incorporating the neuroscience of behavioural change. Contrary to the traditional belief that having information leads to action, neuroscientists have recently demonstrated the importance of agency in the context of the climate crisis, and how this is engendered by action. Thus action supports belief, rather than the other way around. Hence the Four Acts as steps for unlocking fear and inertia in the face of climate change: The Act of Lamentation, The Act of Reciprocal Hospitality, The Act of Eco-Pilgrimmage and The Act of Engagement. Each of these were undertaken through activities during the workshop, guided both by the facilitators and the participants’ own stories and experiences.

We are currently in the process of gathering feedback from the session, so do watch this space to find out what people thought!

We will be using what we have learned from hosting this workshop and our other research to continue to shape our programme for the remainder of 2024, so if you would like to hear about future opportunities to work with us, please get in touch.