Resilient People + Climate Change Conference

Fostering Psychosocial Resilience Among Human Populations via Storytelling, Narrative, and Organizational Preparedness

The first annual “Resilient People + Climate Change” conference is being held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful and livable cities. The venue for the event is Canada Place, one of the Vancouver’s premier conference facilities.

Homo sapiens, a species fundamentally rooted in pattern making and storytelling, is living through a climatic, economic, social, and cultural transition that is desperate for a new narrative: This is a primary rationale for our conference.

A growing body of evidence suggests that climate change-induced impacts on agriculture, the economy, public health, and water- and food- supply networks would not only undermine the abilities of literally hundreds of millions to meet basic needs for food, water, and shelter, but could also weaken the psychological and social resilience of human populations.

This two-pronged material and psychosocial threat to human civilization is occurring right now. During this crucial period the growth of popular resolve and resilience will be needed so that citizens are able to communicate their wishes to policymakers and begin to prepare for significant economic, climatic, cultural, and social dislocation. Nonetheless, obstacles stand in the way of preparing for climate change: Uncertainty, denial, habituation, mistrust, proportionality and, as always, a laundry list of immediate and practical priorities.

Consider this: Whatever success might be possible in the next crucial years would require us to develop and harness a common language—a qualitative, not just quantitative, lingua franca that mobilizes humanity’s shared stories.

Go to http://www.resilientpeople.org for more information.