Hangzhou festival inspires diverse climate actions

The first “Duck Knows First” Cultural Festival, co-hosted by Greenpeace East Asia, a Hong Kong -based independent nonprofit campaigning organization that explores solutions to global environmental issues, and the Hangzhou Ecological Culture Association, was held from May 17 to 19 in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province.

“When the river water warms up in the springtime, the ducks are the first to know,” a verse from a poem by Song Dynasty (960-1279) poet Su Dongpo inspired the theme for the festival, said Liu Junyan, head of Greenpeace’s Beijing-based climate project. The “duck” refers to those who are first aware of the climate change and dedicate themselves to combating its impacts for a greener, sustainable future, according to the festival organizers.

Featuring keynote speeches, roundtables, workshops and film screenings, the three-day event aimed to educate the public on the urgency of climate impacts, how relevant they are to their daily lives and what simple actions they can take for a healthy planet, said Yuan Ying, Greenpeace’s Chief China Representative.

Climate activists from diverse fields such as economics, food, travel, board games, film production, architecture and community service, were invited to share different cases of climate action to live and online audiences.

For example, Feng Jing, founder of Road to Tomorrow, a group promoting sustainable lifestyles, drew connections between climate change and the food humans consume. She inspired the audience to think about the link between the health of human beings and the health of the Earth and all other living beings on it.

Zhao Yongquan, also known as Vincent Zhao, curator of Dice Con, Asia’s largest board game exhibition, discussed how Spaceship Earth, a sci-fi board game challenges players to imagine and implement strategies for managing the vast, complicated, living spaceship they travel on and rely on for life support.

Li Wei, secretary general of Hangzhou Ecological Culture Association, shared her own experience in advocating for waste sorting in local communities. She noted that to increase public awareness of climate change, systematic, society-wide efforts should be taken.