Innovative tools to narrate the importance of climate literacy

Climate literacy means making individuals aware of the daily interactions we all have with the world around us and, consequently, supporting them in making responsible and informed decisions on how to make such interactions sustainable and not harmful to the environment. The idea behind climate literacy is not only to educate people on such principles but also to provide learners with practical applications and equip them with tools they can use to become active change agents in their communities. CMCC is actively taking part in this ambitious challenge through an innovative, interactive platform in which climate change information, tools and data are narrated in a new, multidisciplinary way to help people understand what climate literacy is and what is the meaning of successful adaptation to climate change - and how to practically do it.

Focused on the Adriatic area, the multimedia platform collects a series of nine success stories taking place in the context of the Italy-Croatia Interreg AdriaClim project, which involves local authorities, experts, scientists and citizens in a common effort to adapt to climate change impacts in coastal areas.

The nine stories are presented through the use of new - or different - words, images,  unheard voices and multimedia contents to provide a new narration for innovative solutions. We simplify scientific jargon, giving new life to the words of climate science and sharing information that appeals to facts, and data but also emotions. We dived into the heart of the climate change discourse to extract the most useful keywords to talk about adaptation: we collected and organised them in a simpler, non-canonical dictionary, with practical examples, general context scenarios, differentiated sources and more. Images represent reality but can also be used as access points to knowledge, and impactful visual narratives to explain and illustrate complex concepts and phenomena. Getting in touch with experts and institutional representatives who are at the forefront of the adaptation activities carried out in their areas gives life to a peer-to-peer process that can be an inspiration for different stakeholders. 

Our Climate Literacy platform narrates stories that are born within science but are able to reach non-experts and citizens and help them understand and act about the challenges and solutions of coastal adaptation. Through a multimedia and interdisciplinary dialogue, the platform provides a unique hub for the contamination of knowledge and ideas to act in the face of future impacts.