Jothsna Harris

Call to Action

Climate change is now part of the human experience, and it is essential to center narratives that honor our lived experiences. Storytelling, now a widely recognized strategy in climate communications and for facilitating solutions, has the ability to connect the head and the heart on climate change which is essential for sparking and sustaining action. 

Our stories provide a vehicle for telling the truth about injustice in our broken world, and they also build our confidence by honoring our identities and experiences in meaningful ways. Young people who are at the frontlines of climate change are making important life decisions facing a new climate future, and their voices must be part of shaping the transformative solutions that will help to build a more just world. Change Narrative LLC is thrilled to be an ECCLPs partner and to support climate storytelling as a solution, and to be part of the vital collaboration to meet the urgent need to advance climate and environmental justice literacy in PK–12 instruction across California. 

For a long time, mostly “experts” and those credentialed to talk about climate change have been leading critical discussions and decision-making. Sending the message that we are not all equipped to talk about it. Yet, we are in a time where climate change is all around us, and so we are all experts in our experiences. Changing the Narrative means that to shift dominant and damaging narratives, we must include the voices of everyday people and centering stories typically excluded from critical discussions and decision-making on climate change. Including Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and others that have or will experience a disproportionate burden of the impacts, including youth who are facing an uncertain world. 

As a 2022 Learning Lead for ECCLPs (Re) Launch event, Change Narrative LLC. worked with Dr. Kelley Lê, Director of the Science Project at the University of California Irvine (UCI), and ECCLPs staff to design a climate justice storytelling exhibit as part of the in person event in September 2022 at the UCI, where participants were invited to walk through storytelling prompts to reflect their own personal connections to climate change, with an invitation to share their stories on social media. 

Change Narrative, a consulting service is building capacity in the climate justice movement through the power of our stories and was founded by Jothsna Harris, a climate change practitioner for the last ten years, leading creative public engagement initiatives. Through one-on-one coaching and workshops, Change Narrative supports front-line activists, legislators, artists, organizations, and community groups to craft climate stories as a critical strategy to equip people with climate confidence and advocate for solutions. Storytellers are ready to share climate narratives at live events, legislative hearings, in print media, radio, and podcasts, and can serve as the basis for art and creative expression. Hear Jothsna's personal climate story, as told at the Climate Change Education Solutions Network (CCESN) at Grand Valley State University.

For the listener, a personal narrative can put climate change into context, and make it relatable. For the storyteller, crafting your story can uncover deeper connections to climate change, motivations to act, and to realize the power we hold in our voices. Helping people find and share their stories can create the cultural shift needed for people to see themselves as climate leaders. 
Youth voices are often unheard, and underestimated in mainstream climate conversations. It is critically important to invest in the development and amplification of youth stories that share impacts, solutions, and the visionary imaginations for a more vibrant and just world. Along with educators, schools, parents, and community members who are playing the essential role of supporting and encouraging youth that their stories are needed and important for changing the narrative.