Nordic Connections: Learning from the past to shape the future

This panel will be based on the themes underpinning the project Nordic Connections: Learning from the past to shape the future. The project linked two communities, the island of Unst in Shetland and two islands, Onøy and Lurøy in northern Norway. The islands share histories as well as a deep concern for the future viability of our planet. The project explored two specific issues that threaten contemporary society — catastrophic climate change and nuclear disaster — through dialogue and mutual creative enquiry by young people, university researchers, partner organisations and individual members of the local island communities. Individual members of the panel will give brief presentations related to their contributions and experience of the project in order to provide an overview of its engagement with the two themes, the societal threats of climate crisis and nuclear threat, and the fears and anxieties these threats can cause, e.g., solastalgia and eco-anxiety. Points that relate to the project and could form the basis for discussion with the audience following the presentations from panel members include: ‣ Creative engagement as a means to foster imaginative ways to address, and in turn communicate, the impacts of societal fears related to, e.g., climate crisis and nuclear disaster? ‣ Inter-generational and cross-cultural dialogue as a means to help to diminish fears linked to the societal threats of climate crisis and nuclear threat; ‣ Intergenerational dialogue as a means to learn from the past in order to shape the future; ‣ How can the arts contribute to the formation of creative and socially just solutions to societal threats which will contribute to sustainability? ‣ International collaboration • The value and importance of global dialogue to address societal threats • The challenges of international collaboration