An anthology of powerful short stories inspired by 400 climate scientists, health professionals, educators, artists and youth leaders is being shared with national representatives and delegates at the opening of COP29, today.

We Are The Possible: Land of Fire features 12 stories – one for each day of the global conference – reflecting upon the plight of the planet and to inspire actions to create a greener, healthier, and fairer future.

Funded by the British Council, the Met Office, the British Embassy in Baku, and AHRC, We Are The Possible is led by the University of Exeter with a host of partner organisations, and champions the role that arts and humanities have to play in communicating climate change and its solutions.

It builds on a programme of engagement and creativity that began at COP26 and has encompassed poetry, storytelling, drama, music, education and art at each subsequent conference.

In addition to the anthology, artwork co-created by schoolchildren from the UK, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates will be featured in both the Green and Blue Zones of the venue in Baku.

Monomita Nag-Chowdhury, Climate Lead at the British Council, said: “At COP29, we will be working with our strategic partners and young people to advocate for the role of education, arts and culture in addressing climate change and to share learning and global best practice. So, we’re delighted to be supporting We Are The Possible and its education and culture-focused initiatives in Baku and beyond.”

Professor Peter Stott, Science Fellow in Climate Attribution at the Met Office, and a world-renowned expert in climate science, said: “It is increasingly understood that the humanities and social sciences will have a key role to play in tackling the global climate crisis. We Are The Possible is making a powerful contribution to this dialogue, in particular, by foregrounding the voices of children and young people who have much to lose from possible future impacts of climate change but also much to contribute to forging a more sustainable future.”

The bilingual Land of Fire: 12 Stories for the 12 Days of COP29 anthology, (which is also published online), evolved out of interdisciplinary workshops designed and facilitated by Creative Director, Dr Sally Flint, in which over 400 contributors from UK, UAE, Azerbaijan and around the world took part. Drawing from workshop participants’ writing, research, themes and characters, the stories were then edited through a unique process with writer Kim Squirrell. These new climate narratives have been translated by experts at Khazar University in Baku and are endorsed by a foreword from Leyla Hasanova, Youth Climate Champion for COP29 in Azerbaijan.

Supporting these stories will be inspiring posters and films, developed by more than 1,000 children involved in the Schools Across the Ocean programme. This trans-disciplinary,  climate-literacy programme brings together pupils and their teachers in the UK, UAE, and now, Azerbaijan. The soundtracks for the children’s films were created by the British Institute of Modern Music, and the children’s work will be on display in the UK Pavilion and other cultural venues such as Extreme Hangout and Youth House. Complementing this will be sustainable theatre, with a performance of Bright Light Burning, adapted from the stories by The Theatre of Others.

“Azerbaijan is known as the ‘Land of Fire’ and that has been the inspiration for this year’s project,” says Cecilia Mañosa Nyblon, Director of We Are the Possible. “With warning signs that the planet is reaching tipping point – from the greening of Antarctica to global carbon emissions from fossil fuels reaching record levels – we must act now if we want to limit the damage being done. And while science offers us the insights into what is happening, it is to art, creativity and education that we turn to find the inspiration we need to co-create new solutions to forge a liveable future for all.”

Dr Irada Khalilova, Rector of Khazar University, added: “Through our bilingual anthology, and the Schools Across the Ocean programme, we are bringing together audiences and children in Azerbaijan and the UK with a message of unity and hope.”

For more details about We Are The Possible, visit the GreenFutures website.