Angela YT Chan 
(June 18, 2024 → October 26, 2024) I was invited to work as the Guest Artist for Hopeful Futures - a project between KCL, Policy Institute, London Councils and residents from London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. Through partner information sessions, and the workshops I delivered, the programme tests deliberative and creative methods to imagine what a London well-adapted to extreme temperatures could look like by 2050 and inform local policymaking.
“The Hopeful Futures project is focused on developing and testing tools to support more constructive and future-focused conversations on climate change in deliberative settings. The project explored the potential for integrating lived experience testimony and creative practice to support participants to deliberate on what a well-adapted London could look like by 2050, before working to define principles and prioritise policy options.
These tools were piloted across four workshops that took place at Science Gallery London in September-October 2024, bringing together 27 residents from the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. We also worked with six peer researchers from these boroughs to document how they were coping with hotter temperatures across the summer months.
The project not only provides insights for deliberative practitioners, but delivers wider lessons for everyone engaged with the question of how to adapt to the impacts of climate change in a way that takes account of the needs and priorities of citizens.
The Hopeful Futures team brings together researchers and practitioners from across King’s, including the Policy Institute, the Department of Geography, King’s Culture, Science Gallery London, and Department of Political Economy, along with partners from London Councils, Policy Lab, climate teams from the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Tower Hamlets, and artists Angela YT Chan and Jo Brinton.
This work is funded by King’s College London’s Climate and Sustainability Seed Fund.”
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