Climate on Board
Using public transportation to increase public awareness on climate change
Trieste, Italy. With plans to expand it. | 1 January 2020 – ongoing
Visual narratives, such as comic strips and infographics, are becoming popular tools in science communication. Character-driven narratives can make scientific topics more accessible and engaging for wider audiences of different cultural backgrounds. What about using them to communicate climate change in public transportation? This is the aim of Climate On Board. Started in January 2020, this project involved 130 students from three public high schools for Arts and Design located in Trieste, Udine and Pordenone, in NorthEastern Italy. In January, ICTP climatologists from the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP, Trieste, Italy) trained the students about the physics of climate change and about future climatic scenarios according to the IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels (SR1.5). Following the training, the students produced visual panels that explain basic but important concepts concerning climate change in an effective, attractive and funny way. These panels are intended to raise environmental awareness and to dispel some false myths related to climate and climate change. The panels were posted on 70 bus lines of the Trieste public transport during the European Science Open Forum 2020, reaching people that do not usually attend outreach events. Panels were also displayed at a local outreach event (TriesteNext), on the ClimateOnBoard Instagram page and in an on-line competition (https://cutt.ly/OkCScfR). ClimateOnBoard has already reached a large audience, from teenagers to adults. To spread the panels outside of Italy, we would like to translate them in English, French, Spanish and German, involving students from the Trieste High School of Interpreters and Translators. Translated panels will then be displayed by social media and could fit into other events and means of transportation, increasing the chance to reach larger distances and wider audiences.
More info & Social Media
https://cutt.ly/climateonboard
https://www.facebook.com/Climate-On-Board-107632710783053
https://twitter.com/BoardClimate
https://www.instagram.com/climateonboard/
Editor’s Note: All information published as submitted by the author(s). Minor edits may have been made to increase readability and understanding.
