Perspectives of artist-practitioners on the communication of climate change in the Pacific

Purpose The study investigates the role of the visual arts for communicating climate change in a Pacific islands context, through the perspectives of artists and climate change practitioners. Methodology As part of an ‘Eco Arts’ project undertaken in Fiji, semi-structured research interviews were undertaken with artists and climate change practitioners. Findings Participants’ motivations to produce art reflected their personal concerns about, and experiences of, climate change. There was an intention to use arts-based approaches to raise awareness and promote action on climate change. The artwork produced drew on metaphors and story-telling to convey future climate impacts, and aspects of climate change relevant to Fijian and Pacific communities. Research limitations The study reports the perspectives of participants and discusses the potential uses of arts communication. Conclusions cannot be drawn from the findings regarding the effectiveness of specific artwork or of arts communication as a general approach. Originality/value The present study identifies the motivations and objectives of artistpractitioners involved in climate change communication. We highlight the role of personal experience, and their use of artistic concepts and creative considerations pertinent to the geography and culture of the Pacific region

Professionalizing the “resilience” sector in the Pacific Islands Region: Formal education for capacity building

Increasingly practitioners and policy makers working across the globe are recognising the importance of bringing together disaster risk management (DRM) and climate change adaptation (CCA). This broader Pacific understanding of climate change as a slow-acting disaster has been adopted by the European Union Pacific Technical Vocational Education and Training on Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Adaptation Project (EU PacTVET) project in introducing innovative initiatives to address wide ranging needs. A key barrier to improving national resilience to disaster risk and climate change impacts has been identified as a lack of capacity and expertise at all levels resulting from the absence of sustainable accredited and quality assured formal training programmes in the DRM and CCA sectors. A key issue is providing an accreditation and quality assurance mechanism for formal training shared across the region through the national delivery of regionally quality assured qualifications in Resilience (CCA and DRM). TVET training modules and tools developed under the EU PacTVET project will be reviewed by industry and the scientific community through the Pacific Regional Federation of Resilience Practitioners. This professional association alongside the development of regional qualifications is ground breaking and providing global leadership and will ensure the sustainability of the project’s outcomes

Using vocational education to support development solutions in the Pacific: An emphasis on climate change and health

In this article, author(s) reported on the results of the EU PacTVET project, which explored the use of TVET to support resilience in the region with an emphasis on climate change and health. An exploratory design was used to investigate how vocational education supports solutions for climate change and health. The results showed that vocational education plays a significant role in building safety and resilience of people in the region. Most significantly, getting an accredited qualification on health resilience and/or job in the health sector may help them to respond to climate change effectively and efficiently

Professionalising the 'resilience' sector in the Pacific Islands region: formal education for capacity building

Increasingly practitioners and policy-makers recognise the importance of integrating disaster risk management (DRM) and climate change adaptation (CCA). This approach has been adopted by the European Union Pacific Technical Vocational Education and Training on Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Adaptation Project (EU PacTVET) project. A key barrier to improving national resilience to disaster risk and climate change impacts has been identified as a lack of capacity and expertise resulting from the absence of sustainable accredited and quality-assured training programmes. TVET modules and tools developed under the EU PacTVET project will establish a community of practitioners supporting community resilience in Oceania