The History of Climate Change: an invitation from Manchester Histories to take part in the 2022 Festival

Thursday 9 – Sunday 12 June 2022

The University of Manchester has a long standing partnership with Manchester Histories. It supports their work to facilitate community and public engagement and the biennial Manchester Histories Festival by connecting people together to explore the past and shape the future through histories and heritage.

In June 2022 (Thursday 9 – Sunday 12 June) a festival exploring climate change will take place across Greater Manchester. Led by Manchester Histories, The History of Climate Change will be full of exhibitions, talks, creativity and more. It’s a festival for all, which means there are lots of opportunities for everyone to get involved. Groups, cultural organisations or individuals can become a part of the programme, by taking a stall at Celebration Day or becoming a festival volunteer.

The History of Climate Change seeks to encourage an understanding of the history of environmental issues and climate change in order to inspire people to look at ways that they can take action for a better future for all. Communities will be connected, stories will be shared, ambitions will be discussed, creativity will be showcased and steps towards change will be collectively taken. Spanning across Greater Manchester participating venues will include The Monastery Manchester, Manchester Central Library, Gallery Oldham and Angel Meadow Park.

Alongside the activities being programmed by Manchester Histories, the award-winning charity is inviting individuals, cultural organisations and community groups to add their ideas and activities to the festival. These can be in person or online events and range from a guided walk to an art workshop; a campaign to an exhibition; a talk to a performance. Contributors will receive lots of support including marketing, allocation of space and inclusion in the festival brochure.

Sunday 12 June will be Celebration Day and for the first time will take place at The Monastery Manchester. This is a day of discovery that aims to give a sense of enjoyment and fun to everyone that comes along including families, with the building full of stalls representing history and heritage activities. Museums, history groups and societies, parks and venues are all invited to host a stall, with 50 dotted around the beautiful Monastery in an event that will also be full of musical performances, historical tours and talks, family fun workshops and pop up food.

Another way to get involved in The History of Climate Change is by becoming one of the volunteers that helps at the venues, with admin support, or with stewarding. This is the chance to play your part, gain lots of practical insight from Manchester Histories, meet people and be part of a friendly team of colleagues. As well as travel and refreshments expenses all 2022 volunteers will receive dedicated carbon literacy training.

Deadline for applications to get involved is Friday 11 March 2022. In advance of this there are two sessions being held at Manchester Central Library (Performance Space) on Saturday 29 January and Tuesday 15 February; both taking place from 11am to 3pm they are informal drop ins for anyone that would find it useful to chat through their idea with the Manchester Histories team or find out more about what’s involved.

Karen Shannon, Chief Executive of Manchester Histories, says: “Manchester has always been a city of progress, innovation and action and we believe that as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution there couldn’t be a better place to try and use the power of history to inspire a brighter future for the environment. Our role is bringing together the incredible communities across Greater Manchester to connect, share and explore the region’s rich and diverse histories and heritage, which our biannual festival is central to. We look forward to supporting communities, cultural organistions and individuals to bring a vibrant festival experience to life in the months ahead.”

The details of how to get involved in any aspect of The History of Climate Change are here. All applications need to be made by Friday 11 March 2022. Anyone who would like to make their submission using an alternative method to the online form can email info@manchesterhistories.co.uk.

Manchester Histories is renowned for exploring histories and heritage in new ways, of taking a past, present and future view and for the work that it does collaboratively with communities and grassroots organisations. This will be the seventh festival that it has organised, with each taking a different, but very specific Manchester focus, such as the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre in 2019 and a digital exploration of the 50th anniversary of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act (1970) in 2020.

The programme for The History of Climate Change will be announced in spring 2022.

• To find out more about Manchester Histories, its work and projects visit ManchesterHistories.co.uk