Cresta Climate Challenge

It is time for the rising generation of creatives to take a lead role on the biggest issue facing us all

A sustainable world or a destroyed world? The next generation is in the frontline

Last year, predicting that the pandemic might ease soon, we asked: ‘How “normal” should any new post-virus world actually look?’

We went on to say: ‘Creativity will be key to shaping our future as countries rebuild their economies, create employment and tackle issues such as the environment, food poverty and social injustice.'

Now in 2022, with the pandemic still around us, it is clear that we can’t wait for a post-virus world. Indeed, we have lived with viruses of various kinds for a long time and we are going to have to live and fight some new ones. We can celebrate how creativity in science can deliver amazing new vaccines but that doesn’t make any headway on that list of other pressing issues we all face.

None are larger than the environmental crisis. Indeed, poverty and injustice are being exacerbated by the crisis. Climate change is no longer debatable. But the question remains: what are we going to do about it?

Seeing the outcomes - or lack of - from the COP26 environmental summit indicated that there are forces out there that are keen that we do little for a long time. The new forces of inactivism (with close links to the declining climate change deniers) are rising and well-funded.

These self-interested inactivists are particularly to be found in older and wealthier groups. They see less reason to hurry, and no reason to compromise their plans for investing in a future for the generations to come.

Meanwhile, those under 30 can look forward to an increasingly grim future ending in a likely catastrophe for their children. Indeed, it’s already hitting some parts of the world. In the end, nobody will escape. We are all connected.

Communication creatives can do little to change the science. But they can use their skills to help change the discussion, mobilise the right actions. It is great communications, great ideas marketing, that can change attitudes.

And that’s why we launched the Cresta Climate Challenge.

We invite young creatives of the world to unite in sharing their ideas about how to fight inactivism, how to change attitudes to positively help the fight against climate change.

We want to see striking ideas - and highly useable and sustainable ones at that - to hasten sustainable behaviours and defeat climate change inactivism.

Please enter or encourage and support those under 26 to do so. It is free to submit to the competition. There are cash prizes to be won but perhaps the biggest prize would be to create work that makes a real difference, if it gets picked up and shared. So please take part in whatever way you can.

All entry information and the submission process is to be found here.

For our part, we promise to spread your best creativity far and wide, do our bit to champion the talents of those taking part. We will take the most powerful ideas around climate change and push them out so as to help strengthen hearts, minds and actions in the biggest fight we face.

Image: Kyle Glenn/Unsplash