COP26 Green Zone: Ancient Knowledge and Modern Thinking: Climate Perspectives in Folk Art

In November 2021, The Open University hosted a unique event at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) as one of several initiatives to mark its commitment to responding to the climate crisis.

COP26 bought together parties from across the world to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The Open University hosted a 90-minute series of short reflections on ‘Ancient Knowledge and Modern Thinking: Climate Perspectives in Folk Art’ held in partnership with Glasgow Life. The event featured indigenous artists and experts from the OU and Glasgow Life, exploring connections between culture, citizens, and climate by examining three contrasting works of art from Glasgow Museums’ World Cultures collection.

You can watch the event recording here:

The Open University had official observer status at COP26 and will learn from the conference to inform the university’s wider sustainability mission and inspire students and staff to take action.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Blackman said:

‘It is a great privilege to offer a “culture and science” perspective on the impacts of climate change in such a hugely significant event as COP26. Climate change and its ecological consequences are the biggest challenges facing humanity. In response, our sustainability vision at The Open University is to create and share knowledge and learning to realise social and environmental justice.

‘Through the power of learning we collaborate with our stakeholders to achieve impact across society in response to the sustainability crisis. This permeates everything we do, from exploring new frontiers in understanding Earth’s atmosphere, its ecosystems and its people, to the democratisation of learning and knowledge. The new OU Strategy for 2022-2027 directly addresses sustainability and the need to support our students and staff to become agents for the change that is needed.

‘Through our mission to be “open to people, places, methods and ideas” we are committed to inspiring action via our role as an educator and to ensuring that everything we do is sustainable. We will draw on our unique heritage of over 50 years as the only university operating across the UK’s four nations, reaching learners at a distance and engaging mass public audiences through our long-standing media partnerships’.