Nick Weise from the University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering founded Maretório, a project focussed on making space to facilitate meaningful communication about climate change for those vulnerable, coastal communities in Brazil who may be most affected by it.

Nick was inspired to start the project after being invited to a British Council workshop by a colleague who knew about his previous work on science communication. The workshop brought together communicators, environmentalists and researchers from many different countries, combining their expertise to create a project aimed at addressing a real need for accessible, two-way dialogue in regions of South America.

The main impact from Maretório has been the creation of educational resources and children’s games to empower local people to engage with climate change as they view it and using language that is personal and relevant to them.

Back in May, Maretório won a 2023 Making a Difference Award.

See Nick’s interview for the Manchester Evening News at the Awards:

We asked Nick a few questions about the project and what winning an Award means to him:

Tell us about how it felt to win a Making a Difference Award

I felt amazed that the project had been selected by the judges, given the fantastic work that had already been highly commended at the ceremony!

Is there any one you’d like to thank?

I’d like to say thank you to project partners Frederico Neves, Rebecca Borges and Sarah Mynott for all of their hard work and expertise, as well as Sarah Griffiths for inviting me to the workshop that started it all.

How might the recognition of winning an award help the project?

Winning a Making a Difference Award will help the project by showing that work on co-created community engagement is really valued by the University and beyond. Others will be able to see that this is an option for any current or future science communication initiatives.

What advice would you offer to anyone considering entering the Making a Difference Awards?

Anyone thinking about entering the Making a Difference Awards should definitely apply, but think carefully about how you can evidence the impact of their work. It always helps to look at previous year’s winners and highly commended entries as they often have links to project websites where potential entrants can see how their work might fit in (and just generally be inspired by all the great work out there!)

Next for Nick will be working with the other project partners in various countries to see how the longer-term impacts of the project are unfolding and consider wider dissemination of their approach.

 Watch this short video to find out more about Maretório.