BE THE CHANGE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

 

A couple of days ago, Diego (San Juan | Madrid Group Leader) asked me to extrapolate and explain what exactly our Inside Out Action has to do with Climate Change, as we have chosen it as our main umbrella of communication for the IOP | BE THE CHANGE action!

Of course this is a very legitimate question and I know that many of You “purists” might ask it over and over again, so here it goes:

The initial stages of Be the Change came about as Corinne Weber, my partner, and I were thinking about producing a much larger scale IOP action than the one we developed in Athens, Greece last October (Eyes of Truth). Corinne and I are the co-founders of MELD, a global art platform dedicated to commissioning inspiring artworks embedded in issues surrounding Climate Change!

For both myself and Corinne, Climate Change is not just about global warming and hardcore scientific facts (often difficult to digest for common mortals).  It is about the human stories that are anchored in social justice and human rights.  For us everything is ONE and thus interconnected; you cannot talk about climate change without considering the economic, political and social contexts.  Whatever we choose to call it, it is all part of one problem. Climate Change is the natural umbrella to discuss at large the great problems facing Humanity: from poverty to migration to droughts and rising water levels…in the end, all problems seem to have an intrinsic connection and need to be addressed as so.  By compartmentalizing the issues, we will not be able to address the problem in its full spectra, nor find potential solution

Be the Change becomes a philosophy of life: a group of individuals around the globe, who are not only challenging the current state of affairs, but through unity, solidarity and living by example, are inspiring new ways to see the world and new solutions!!

JR’s platform, in its simplicity and purity, allows us to freely express all of these new thoughts and ideas through the stories of the people having their portraits taken who are sending a message to the rest of the world.  

Our global action, Be the Change, tackles a crucial time in the history of humanity, where the political, economic, social and environmental structures we have been living with over the past centuries are no longer written in blood, but open for question!

A change is necessary for Humanity to evolve into a more unified and respectful society.  Each country, each city and each individual can and should be part of this Change.   We hope you all can see how important you all are in making this happen!