The Joy of Activism: Finding Flowers in the Sh*t

Climate change, activism and disability are all areas that are rarely thought of as joyful. Yet joy can be a powerful act of resistance, improving resilience of activists, bolstering the effectiveness of change making, and reasserting value and humanity.

Polly Meyrick and Emma Geen will talk about their personal experiences of disability and how this led them to explore alternative creative and joyful forms of activism and change making. Polly will talk about positive tipping points, art as journalism, and local and human stories. Emma will share the craftivism project she ran with Sophie Mellor and fellow Disabled activists to raise awareness about including Disabled people in climate resilience and emergency preparedness.

The talk is aimed at anyone interested exploring alternative forms of activism. All ages are welcome but the event is not designed for children.

Emma Geen a disability climate justice consultant, researcher, author and activist.

Polly Meyrick is an artist, musician and farm worker.

‘The Joy of Activism: Finding Flowers in the Sh*t’ is part of a wider talk programme organised by the Personal to the Planetary fellows - a group of ten activists, academics, artists and scientists who have spent ten months collaboratively researching the climate emergency. Personal to the Planetary is a joint Brigstow Institute and Cabot Institute for the Environment initiative.