The written word

Hold writing competitions exploring the issues of climate change.

Voices from the future – Utopias and dystopias

If we are successful at halting climate change or we are not – what will our planet look like? Ask students to write a piece of creative writing around the theme of utopias and dystopias. Students will read extracts from several different novels that demonstrate this genre. They can also be shown photographs that appear to have a dystopian/Utopian feel to them to help the students imagine a future world where we have either been successful or unsuccessful in halting climate change.

Approach students in creative arts departments to see if they would like to illustrate some of the essays. Create a book and exhibition with the photos and illustrations alongside the students creative writing pieces.

Set up prominent displays of books on climate change, utopias and dystopias in libraries.

Play short videos that tell the stories of these books, for instance George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’, Margaret Attwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ or Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’, etc.