By: Laura Bennett
With endless news about environmental issues, pollution and natural disasters linked to climate change, it’s no wonder many kids experience climate anxiety and question what the adults are doing to protect their future.
With endless news about environmental issues, pollution and natural disasters linked to climate change, it’s no wonder many kids experience climate anxiety and question what the adults are doing to protect their future.
Filmmaker and environmental advocate Damon Gameau (That Sugar Film, 2040) tackles this dilemma in his latest documentary, Future Council, handing the mic to kids who are ready to ask the big questions about climate change sustainability and help businesses think about them differently.
“So many things that these children care about, whether it’s ocean plastics or fast fashion or climate, they’re all linked,” Damon shared.
“They’re all coming from a flawed architecture of an economic system that doesn’t really value nature the way it should.”
In Future Council Damon invites eight passionate, curious and very funny children on an epic adventure across Europe to better understand the planet’s predicaments, explore solutions and to take the conversation off the streets and into the boardrooms of some of the world’s most influential companies.
One of the most striking moments is when a child asks a CEO, “What would your grandchildren think of the decisions you made in the last quarter?”
“That’s a really simple but potent question,” Damon said.
“I think it really struck some of these CEOs.”
While children may seem too young to grasp the complexity of systems like global economics or geopolitics, Damon thinks we’re underestimating them.
“I think many in my generation and older have probably projected our own childhoods onto children,” Damon said.
“We underestimate how much information they’re exposed to right now [and] they bring this much-needed morality.
“They remind us to think of people and the planet – not just profit.”
At the same time, Damon is clear that meaningful change won’t come from shaming the past.
“No one deliberately set out to pollute the oceans or the atmosphere,” Damon said.
“It was part of growth, creating jobs.
“Fifty years ago we were proud of some of these people. But the world has changed, and now we need to change with it.”
For Damon personally, making Future Council and spending so much time with the kids was a deeply moving project.
“It was life-changing,” Damon said.
“I can get bogged down in this stuff, but then you go and hang out with these children, and they’re just so in their hearts.
“They reminded me that even though times are tough, you’ve still got to find joy amongst the chaos.”
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
Feature image: Canva
About the Author: Laura Bennett is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.
