"Thanks to the Akashi project, I can now think about climate change without feeling totally petrified.

Before I just tried to ignore the subject, but now I see there's something we can all do about it. It was interesting to discuss it from a Jewish viewpoint too"

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About

Project partners

Three organisations have come together to create the Akashi project.

Project staff

The Akashi project wass run day to day by Shilpa, the project coordinator up until February 2008, with help from Andy and Ro from Cambridge Cambridge Carbon Footprint and a number of volunteers. Karen, from Gantwells helps with all the design work.

We’re grateful to our friends at the Community Development at Cambridge City Council, MENTER, East of England Faiths Council, Sustainable City, the Energy Savings Trust and of course all the groups we work with for their support and advice.

Shilpa Shah coordinated the project, working three days a week. She was based in the office of Cambridge Architectural Research, on Gwydir Street in Cambridge. She likes eating chocolate and fruit and watching Planet Earth.  Since DEFRA's funding finished in February 2008, a new volunteer Steering group have taken over the Akashi project's work. This group of volunteers meets once every 6 weeks or so and organises meetings with community groups on climate change.

If you would like to be part of this steering group or help in any way, we would love to hear from you! Please look under the Volunteer section on the ‘Get Involved’ page.

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History

The Akashi project began as an idea around the table in Andy and Ro’s kitchen back in November 2005. Shilpa came round and the three of them pondered over the relationship between culture, faith and climate change. Why were only a small minority of people talking about climate change and doing something about it? What do other traditions teach about living sustainably? Why didn’t most of the stuff we here in the media about climate change take different cultures and social networks into consideration?

They decided that something needed to be done about it. In early 2006 they applied for funding from Defra’s Climate Challenge initiative for creating a project that would focus on engaging people of different faiths and cultures in the debate about climate change.

In June, the funding was awarded and the project kicked off in July 2006. The project was launched in August 2006 at the Guildhall in Cambridge and has been steaming along ever since! Meetings have been held with dozens of cultural and faith community groups in Cambridge and the Eastern region. The Akashi Festival attracted over 350 participants and our new Climate Change: One World, Many Voices poster exhibition (available here), which has been touring the region, has been hugely well received.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2008: The funding for Shilpa's post (provided by DEFRA's Tomorrow's Climate is Today's Challenge) finished in February 2008. Cambridge Carbon Footprint is looking for new funding to help us continue the excellent work begun. A new Steering Committee of wonderful volunteers has taken over the Akashi project's work in the meantime.

What does Akashi mean?

Akashi‘Akash’ means ‘sky’ in Hindi, Gujarati and other South Asian languages. ‘Akashi’ means ‘of the sky’. Akashi is also Shilpa’s niece, who’s cute face has just got to be shown here.

 

We’ve been collecting words for ‘sky’ or ‘air’ in other languages too. Can you add a word to the list? Email Shilpa with your suggestions - shilpa@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org

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