“It is not only the melting ice which is being threatened by climate change, but also the wisdom of Inuit culture” said Sheila Watt-Cloutier in 2015 when accepting the Right Livelihood Award “for her lifelong work to protect the Inuit of the Arctic and defend their right to maintain their livelihoods and culture, which are acutely threatened by climate change.” Ten years on, her words remain urgent; her commitment inspirational. As a leader in the fight for climate justice and a renowned author, she is the ideal guest to encourage a new group of aspiring changemakers who wish to write human-centered stories for social transformation.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier knows how to speak truth to power out of her own lived experience. In her book The Right to Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Artic and the Whole Planet, a powerful award-winning memoir about her life and the devastating impact of climate change on Inuit communities, she convincingly argued that climate justice and human rights are inextricably linked and concern each and every human being.
Whether by pushing for the development of educational programs that would lift her indigenous community or by filing the world’s first legal action on climate change at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, throughout her work she has seamlessly weaved together human rights, culture and the environment to influence authorities and policies, building the foundation of the very same holistic approach that is now being advocated by many quarters. She was and still is a pioneer not only in raising awareness about current environmental challenges, in the Artic and worldwide, but also in providing examples and human rights-based solutions, while infusing a hopeful vision for a more respectful and human future.
“I believe the campaigns to link climate change to human rights protection—efforts that acknowledge our shared humanity and our shared future—are the most effective way to bring about lasting change” writes Sheila. We share the same belief and this is why, in collaboration with our longstanding partner Right Livelihood, we invited her to speak to the new cohort of Authoring Justice, our online writing course on narrative non-fiction. During a live webinar with course participants, Sheila and Andrew Leon Hanna, the main lecturer of the course, will discuss the motivation behind her decision to write a memoir as a form of human rights advocacy. Students will have the opportunity to learn from her how to honour the voices of the people they write about. They will interact with her and find out more on how to be human-centered in their writing approach. In particular, two students will be ‘twinned’ with Sheila and receive two scholarships to write their Capstone Projects about climate justice or youth engagement in climate justice movements.
We look forward to welcoming Sheila among our guest speakers. If you are interested in e-meeting her and writing non-fiction works on climate justice apply to join Authoring Justice.