From Plant Press, Vol. 23, No. 3, July 2020.
The Earth Optimism Summit, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, was originally scheduled to take place in Washington, DC, with concurrent sister events around the world, on April 22-26, 2020, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. In response to the coronavirus global pandemic, the Summit was moved to a digital event on those days, and it successfully showcased stories of both small and large-scale actions, framing the conversation and demonstrating that success is possible.
The Earth Optimism Digital Summit launched with a film night on Earth Day, April 22, and then continued April 23 and 24. A live broadcast with formal programming online on Facebook Live, Twitter, YouTube and on the Earth Optimism website attracted viewers from around the world, and the digital summit was rebroadcasted through that weekend. More than 100 global leaders shared successful conservation and sustainability strategies being deployed worldwide, and discussed how to scale and mainstream these strategies to achieve transformative change.
Video after the jump...
Topics ranged from climate to food to finance to oceans and environmental and climate justice; and featured young activists, boots-on-the-ground conservationists, artists and filmmakers, scientists, journalists, political and business leaders.
Started in 2017 through a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, the Earth Optimism movement emerged from two key realizations: 1) that fear without hope leads to apathy rather than action, and 2) that conservation successes are widespread yet not widely appreciated. Earth Optimism aims to fundamentally shift how we reframe the narrative about our planet – from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity.
Among the nearly 50 live sessions were scientists and educators from the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). Each morning began with Deep Dives for close looks at contemporary issues and included workshops, panel discussions, and questions from the live audience. Danielle Duran (Office of the Deputy Director) served as a panelist and moderated the workshop, “Decoding policy and regulation: How to make a difference in the electricity industry.” Gary Krupnick (Department of Botany) served as a panelist and hosted the session, “Collaborating to solve a crisis: The story of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC).” Nick Pyenson (Department of Paleobiology) convened the panel discussion, “What is science diplomacy and why is it essential in the 21st century?” During the main session, NMNH Advisory Board Member Katharine Hayhoe joined NMNH Director Kirk Johnson for the discussion, “Communicating About Climate”, and Hayhoe was a speaker in the presentation, “Climate Change Solutions.” Sabrina Sholts (Department of Anthropology) was a speaker in the very timely discussion, “Fighting Pandemics.”
Most presentations were uploaded to YouTube and can be viewed at https://earthoptimism.si.edu/calendar/2020-dc-summit/.
2020 Earth Optimism Digital Summit
Deep Dive: “Collaborating to solve a crisis: The story of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign”
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