C-Change Model and Results
The C-Change model is built on 4 key strands – collaboration, support, policy and engagement – which combine to frame and drive sector action.
The city’s arts and culture sector connect on climate.
The city supports the sector to act on climate.
On a policy level, the city introduces measures to drive sector climate action and, in some cases, the sector is directly involved in city climate change strategy development.
And the arts and culture engage people in cities on climate.
Watch an introduction to C-Change
1. Collaboration: Culture connects on climate in cities
New alliances are bringing culture together on climate in 5 cities
A bigger more impactful Manchester Arts Sustainability Team
100+ cultural organisations in total across 6 cities, from theatres and festivals to libraries and orchestras
“Sharing and exchanging what we had been doing through C-Change meetings enabled us to scale up action. Working together helped us develop a sense of direction and collective purpose while at the same time building recognition of the unique role the arts and culture sector could play on climate action and engagement”
Katarzyna Roj, BWA Dizajn Gallery Wrocław
2. Support: Cities supporting culture to act on climate
New skills and capacity-building
11 climate change training sessions done by and for culture, with 12 new trainers and 160 people trained across 5 cities
New digital training and learning tools developed for culture in Manchester
New sector funding opportunities on climate action and engagement
Over €0.5 million new funding secured by Mantova
New Green Culture grants in Wrocław
Proposals to extend existing environmental funding programme in Gelsenkirchen to the culture sector
2 new sector-specific carbon calculators
2 new city guides on sustainable events
“C-Change has had a huge impact on the artists who are part of the Águeda C-Change Group and done the climate change training. They have felt empowered by what they learned through C-Change, decided to take action themselves, and pass on what they have learnt to others through their art.”
Adriana Mesquita, Department of Culture and Sport, Municipality of Águeda
3. Engagement: Culture engages people in cities on climate
A wide range of cultural events carried out with city support including…
23 pilot actions across 6 cities from orchestra workshops with children using recycled instruments and a climate change myth-busting machine to Gelsenkirchen’s Szeniale Festival 2019 environmental engagement campaign
Šibenik C-Change Festival 2020 – 1 month, 10 events from an environmental art exhibition to an installation on sea-level rise
Mantova C-Change Season 2020 – 1 summer, 6 events from a children’s radio programme on climate change to a carbon visualisation installation
Wrocław C-Change Festival 2021 – 3 weeks, 11 events from ‘Earthling’ an online theatre performance to a gallery’s family workshops on waste
Águeda artists engaging young people on environmental themes through urban street art initiatives
“C-Change has changed my opinion about how much people are interested in climate change. I used to think people weren’t really interested, and now I know many are and I realized that human creativity can make a big difference.”
Katarina Urem, Šibenik City Museum
“C-Change both increased my environmental awareness and helped us at the Municipal Library to better engage with our communities on environmental issues, from knowing which books to recommend to organising creative workshops using recycled materials and sharing our own good environmental practice here at the library.”
Helena Marques, Manuel Alegre Municipal Library
4. Policy: City policy frames sector action on climate
City culture and climate departments working together for the first time
A range of new integrated policy measures including…
Integrating culture in Mantova’s Sustainable Energy Plan
Aligning Manchester cultural funding and climate change strategy
Involving the culture sector in Gelsenkirchen’s new climate change strategy development
In Wrocław the city’s new Cultural Council has been tasked with developing an integrated cultural strategy. C-Change has helped to highlight the importance of making climate and environmental action and engagement a part of this strategy.
“The Department of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Development was used to dealing with infrastructure projects with much bigger budgets than C-Change. We were more funding and project-driven and not well-versed on culture and climate. Being involved in C-Change increased our own awareness of climate change and why it was so important to act. We started to make small changes in our personal lives. We saw what could be achieved by combining our project management skills with the creativity and reach of the arts and culture. Indeed C-Change brought out our own creativity. In the end, we have achieved more than we thought possible.”
Nikolina Gracin, Department of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Development, City of Šibenik
“C-Change has been a central part of Mantova cultural strategy over the last few years. We will continue what C-Change has started, and build on its legacy through a range of spin-off projects on both the local and the national level, including a new project to transfer the C-Change model to six other Italian cities.”
Emanuele Salmin, Fundraising and EU Projects Office, Municipality of Mantova
“C-Change was to become our biggest production yet, involving many players. From the beginning we understood the value this model could bring to other cities. What we hadn’t understood was how much we would gain, strengthening city and sector collaboration, more closely aligning culture and climate change policy and programmes and framing MAST’s zero carbon culture work.”
Simon Curtis, Convenor, Manchester Arts Sustainability Team
Collaboration, support, policy and engagement frame and drive sector action
Explore the C-Change Cities
