Through a game of printed or digital cards, the participants will be able to understand the stakes of climate change, its causes and consequences, to empower themselves to take action and adapt their behaviour. The activity is organized in 3 hours workshops managed by a facilitator trained on the topic. The facilitators are active all over the world.
The Climate Fresk
Non governmental organization + professional trainers
2018
All over the world, headquarters in Paris.
To host this activity, the interested organization must contact the different facilitators by sending a request on the platform of the project: https://climatefresk.org/. The dynamic is available, as mentioned in more than 50 countries in 45 languages.
The climate fresk is a card game created in 2015 by Cédric Ringenbach, a climate change specialist since 2009, director of the Shift Project from 2010 to 2016 teaching energy-climate issues in major schools (Sup’aéro, Ecoles Centrales, Sciences Po, HEC). The current version and structure was updated in 2018 thanks to the support of the NGO he founded, La Fresque du Climat. This card game based on the IPCC reports aims at improving the basic knowledge of climate change, its causes and consequences, to empower people. The workshops usually gather 6 to 8 participants and can be done face-to-face or online, using the platform Mirro.
After a success in France and the rest of the world, following the English version developed in 2020, there are currently, in September 2022, 25000 trainers in the world, and the game is available in more than 50 countries and in 45 languages. 525 000 people attended the workshops so far all over the world.
The Climate Fresk is a 3 hours workshop where the participants, through an active and participative session, have to think about the causes and consequences of climate change. The game is composed of 44 cards with two sides: on one side an illustration, on the other side an explanation. The recommended number of participants is 8.
Usually, people have to register online through the portal of the association and need to pay 10 euros when they are simple citizens.
Anyone can be a facilitator as long as they attended a “train the facilitators” workshop. It includes a 1h30 MOOC, an online session with a trainer, and a 150 pages manual that explains every card, tips for trainers, etc.
They start as “white belts”, during which phase they need to co-facilitate 10 sessions. After that, they are considered “yellow belts”. To practice professionally, they need to access the “orange belt”. There are 2 other levels : green belt for trainers and blue belt for trainers of trainers.
The main objective of the workshop is that by being more aware about climate change, people will change their behaviour and become facilitators themselves.
The main danger is to create eco-anxiety. Facilitators are aware of that. The second part of the workshops includes a reception of the emotions and feelings. This specific point needs to be dealt even more cautiously online.
The challenge in logistics could be the price when the facilitators are doing sessions in big organizations as the recommended price is 1500 euros.
A last obstacle could be the fact that the session is 3 hours long: it can be challenging for some people with family life to have 3 hours free outside of their worklife. This is also why the online version had so much success and is still organized.
To host this activity, the interested organization must contact the different facilitators by sending a request on the platform of the project: https://climatefresk.org/. The dynamic is available in more than 50 countries in 45 languages. The probability to find someone is therefore very high.
The hosting organization needs to find a suitable room for the number of people and needs a table or a board. The table is recommended if there are more than 4 people since they will need to be able to move around the cards, to displace them etc. Some facilitators might have their preferences so it is recommended to see with them what they need and recommend.
You also need to think if you want to keep the fresk, after its realization, in your organization. In that case you need to warn the facilitator. It is also possible to download the cards online and to print them.
The workshop is divided into 3 phases of one hour.
The Climate Fresk is rising among the public debate. This activity can be implemented in various places, gardens or not. Since community gardens have a role in climate change awareness, the climate fresk has a very high potential. The potential is so high that the French government announced in October 2023 that 25 000 civil servants, in a decision of policy or decision makers, will be trained in ecological transition and the climate fresk will be a mandatory workshop within that frame.
The tool is so powerful that it inspired other fresks on neighbor topics when it comes to sustainable development and ecological transition: there is now a fresk about digital footprint and impact on environment (25 000 people trained as of October 2022), the 2 tons workshops (23 000 people trained as of July 2022)