Member states of the UN environment assembly are meeting this week in Busan, South Korea to discuss the details of a global plastics treaty for the fifth, and hopefully final, time. Negotiations can be difficult, monotonous, and often go around in circles. The talks can go on for more than 14 hours a day. Those attending complain of meeting fatigue.
So far, despite the efforts of the chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the global plastics treaty negotiations remain on a knife edge. Decisions have stalled, corporate interests have had an increasing presence, and vital community voices feel unheard.
Creative arts can disrupt this process and bring about a fresh way of opening up dialogue. Our team at the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth has been pioneering the use of theatre, music and visual arts to research issues around plastic pollution for almost a decade. Working with diverse groups including grassroots communities, industry leaders and policymakers, we have found these tools to be inclusive, effective and highly engaging.
