31 constant dynamic of reinforcing change. Each depends on the other to stand, otherwise any attempt at action falls – collective action cannot happen without individual responsibility, for instance. We need to take a more system-based approach to climate action, a more balancebased approach and put much greater value on collaboration. We need to move from the poles of the equator, so to speak, so we can bring balance, justice, and fairness. These are the core principles of Julie’s Bicycle in our work with organisations in the cultural sector. We try to work in this way because art, music, theatre and the spaces in which these take place are hugely powerful instruments of change, and change can go in all sorts of directions. This is the moment for us to take on the implications of the climate and environmental crises in culture, to be responsible and aware of the role we each play and not become polarised, because, ultimately, every action matters. This involves how we design a cultural community that is fair and brings into it about reparation and honesty and helps us rethink what we do on a day-to-day basis, so that we can orient towards honesty and good purpose. Stefano Della Torre I quite agree with what I have heard about these collaborative and non-exclusive approaches, blending individual and collective responsibility for actions. Actually, I am used to dealing with buildings and with the use and reuse of historic buildings, so I know how to identify individual responsibilities not only towards actions and engagement. But for everyday activities there are everyday decisions to make, such as lowering the heating system impact, or investing money to step from a traditional heating system to new renewable energy sources, and such decisions have experienced during the last projects that I have coordinated, such as, the Interreg Central European project STRENCH* and ProteCHt2save*). Furthermore, what we need is to look at what society’s needs and requirements are to drive our research to contribute to solving the still existing challenges. Alison Tickell The question of polarisation is really important and it lies right at the heart of the challenge for society to take meaningful climate action. Regardless of the best ways to mobilise action, the core problem is not the method but the polarisation itself. During my fifteen years at Julie’s Bicycle, one of the biggest challenges I have encountered has been how to encourage collaboration and avoid polarisation. It is immensely difficult because each of us carries a huge amount of conscious and unconscious baggage, including our understanding of the past, the present and our views of ourselves. Polarisation is a hard-wired cultural practice. It is, in part, the cause of the environmental crisis itself, with the polarisation of humans and nature, positioning nature as something hostile that must be conquered. The reason our climate is in this unbalanced state is an inevitable consequence of polarisation and competition in human thinking. On top of that, polarisation is what means that certain communities are seen as less deserving than others in the framework of a global economy built on competition and conflict. I also believe we are becoming increasingly polarised as a society, which has been turbocharged by social media. You see it in our politics and you see it in the culture wars seeping into our everyday conversations, particularly online. In terms of climate action, I believe individual and collective agency are not mutually exclusive. They are one and the same, a
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