PROJECT: ECO-ANXIETY LEARNING RESOURCE
CLIENT: THE ECONOMIST EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

The Economist Educational Foundation is an independent charity affiliated with The Economist newspaper that supports young people from around the world to develop the skills they need to navigate the news and feel empowered as global citizens.

They have a learning programme called Topical Talk which offers free resources for classroom discussions about the news, to inspire students aged 10-16 with informed and open-minded discussions about the biggest issues of our time, whilst helping them to develop essential critical-thinking and communication skills.

OBJECTIVE

To create an A3-sized illustration of a a busy place, with many references to spot on the numerous ways information, news, or messaging relating to the climate/climate change may be encountered on an everyday basis. The illustration is to be used as an activity within a free lesson about Eco-anxiety.

It was important that the illustrated place shouldn’t be specific geographically - ie not distinctively UK-based, as the lesson would be accessed by teachers/students around the world.

Also, a one colour, outline illustration style was requested, in consideration of possible printing resources/limitations.

Some close-ups of the illustration… there are a lot of climate-related details to look out for!

An answer sheet is included in the resource, highlighting 25 details, although there may also be other things that could be interpreted as climate-change reminders.

PROCESS

This project had a particularly tight deadline - basically around 1 week from the initial project enquiry, and quoting for the work to final delivery. (I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t agree to creating such a detailed piece on that timeframe again though!)

With time being so short I showed the client a VERY rough initial sketch, before working up my main sketch, to give them a basic idea of the direction I was heading. The full sketch then includes virtually all the content detail, ready for working up as the final illustration.

TOPICAL TALK - TEACHING RESOURCE LIBRARY

This Climate Messaging activity is a small part of the full Eco-anxiety lesson, which is a 1-hour resource - The full lesson can be accessed here

Many other free teaching resources are also available for weekly classroom discussions about current affairs. These trustworthy, ready-to-use resources are made by expert teachers in collaboration with world-leading journalists and fact-checkers from The Economist newspaper.

Access all the available resources here

CLIENT FEEDBACK

 “ I approached Carys with a very tight timeline and a brief about eco-anxiety - and was immediately impressed at how many ideas she had for how to bring our needs to life. Throughout the process I found the checkpoints and communication logical and clear. The finished illustration is a fantastic asset to our lesson. It's detailed, engaging and is sure to spark lively discussions about eco-anxiety in classrooms around the world. Thank you Carys, until the next time!”

- Katie Campbell | Head of Content, The Economist Educational Foundation

STUDENT COMMENTS

Topical Talk Festivals are global discussions between schools and leading topic experts on the biggest news stories and issues of our time: from socio-political topics like justice and equality, to sustainability and the "climate crisis". Each Festival is packed with inspiring activities, online events and awards for thoughtful conversations and ideas. For this discussion, the illustration has been used to spark discussions about eco-anxiety.

Really interesting to read the students comments, from all over the world here

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