Where in the world would you find a cycle powered cinema (no peddling - no picture); a 10 foot hand stitched map of the world covered in personal stories of global interconnections, performance poets, talks, workshops and a seminar about globalization masquerading as a world-class cheese tasting?

Saturday 20th October saw the second Interdependence Day - a mix of talks, arts, workshops and performance put together by the Open University, new economics foundation and a host of partners. The events represents a unique way of exploring how we should all respond to climate change and globalization, and how we can connect such issues together.

The Interdependence Day project grew out of my own practical and academic work in climate change communications. Talking with others in the same field we agreed that NGOs and the research and policy community had done a good job of scaring the pants off people but not really given them any sense of there being a way out of the mess we're in. I wanted to start conversations going that recognised that this is also a time of exhilarating opportunities: to change the way we do things, and to reframe relations North and South, and between humans and their environment. This impulse developed into the Interdependence Day project - a communications, research and participation project.

October 20th 2007 was our second public event - festival is a better term - and it followed closely on the heels of our second UK Interdependence Report. We think we've struck upon a good formula now, and will be looking to improve on both the Interdependence Day report and festival for 2008 (feedback is very welcome). There will also be some more academic publications that will help inform the more public facing work. You can follow developments and participate in the events by signing up to the newsletter on the Interdependence Day website.

You can also follow links to video, interviews, radio broadcasts, photos and articles from the Interdependence Day events 2006 and 2007.

About the author

Joe Smith is Lecturer in Environment at the Open University and chair of Interdependence Day. Joe has written books on climate change and sustainability, the media and global issues, and the green movement.