The world of the 21st century is undergoing massive physical and social changes. The current planetary situation does not suggest that we can continue in the same way as before. Adaptation thus offers a space for mutual social discussion about which features and processes are useful for the future and for survival, and which are merely the norm.
Never before has the world faced such a need for reliable scientific and technical knowledge to better understand and cope with growing global challenges. Water scarcity, drought, fires, biodiversity loss, melting glaciers, rising sea and ocean levels, flooding. Unfortunately, this is not a list of subjects for TV disaster movies, as one might think. These are just some of the manifestations of the alarming current state of our planet’s climate. We are not succumbing to scepticism. Climate apathy is not an option if we are to pass the planet on to future generations in a survivable state. The search for new pathways. Together. And we can start in our backyard or on the streets of our hometown.
This year, however, the section is also taking a journey beyond the four walls of film halls and introduce the topic of adaptation through guided walks, discussions and film screenings in the streets and forests of Olomouc. The aim is to bring the often abstract and complex topic of climate adaptation into real shapes and colours. Will the street I run down late for school look the same in 30 years? How will Czech cities, meadows and groves change?
This year, the programme section will present the theme of adaptation in a local context. Nearby and in the community, in gardens and in the woods that are as familiar as our own shoes. It will bring the future in a concrete and tangible form. Through guided walks, panel discussion and films. It will also focus on the perception of the issue by the Czech public and will also open up the topic of environmental anxiety and psychological adaptation to the current environmental crisis.
In the programme section, we will offer a panel discussion on the Czech landscape and soil, a guided walk with an urban planner who will present the city of a carbon-free future, and a lecture by meteorologist and climatologist Tatiana Míková. The theme of ecological treatment of soil will be presented in the film Kiss the Ground, where the actor Woody Harrelson is the guide for the audience. The issue of the degradation of Czech forests will be highlighted by the short film Czechia Deforested from FAMU.
