Film Interview: Climate and Migration
01.04.2021
By Alisa Udodik
Supervisor: Dr. Gesa Lüdecke
During my time on the ESCP at the Rachel Carson Center, I fundamentally grappled with the concept of climate change for the first time in my life. I have been particularly inspired and impressed by the interdisciplinary research of RCC scholars. Due to my own migration story, I was always interested in the question: Is it possible to solve the problems of climate change when perceptions of them are so different across the world? If one assumes that environmental problems can be solved via the cooperation of many countries, it would be helpful to raise more awareness of the fact that the issues of and solutions to climate change are not universal but differ across cultures and environments. We can use such valuable insights as starting points for further collaborations.
For my final project, I decided to make a film based on interviews and discussions with students with migration backgrounds. The goal of the film is to understand how the concept of "climate change" affects people's daily lives as well as to document and explore how the experience of migration impacts people to change their behavior and attitudes towards environmental problems.
Inspired by the work of other ESCP students, such as Laura Kuen with her film Freedom, I chose film as one of the most effective tools to encourage dialogue and bring the voices and experiences of individuals to a wider audience.
If you're interested in watching Alisa's film, it is available for download here.