INTERVIEW: Kamori Osthananda, SEACHA Youth Working Group for COP29

1. Tell us about how you got involved with SEACHA’s Youth Working Group

Prior to the SEACHA Youth Working Group, I was involved with SEACHA as a researcher and presenter at the Cultural Wisdom for Climate Action: The Southeast Asian Contribution Conference in 2023. I researched with my colleagues the correlation between linguistic and biodiversity hotspots in Southeast Asia, which underscores the relationship between culture and climate.

SEACHA has reached out and extended an invitation for me to be part of the Working Group. As a co-lead, I aim to expand SEACHA's youth-led initiatives to further highlight culture-based climate action. Through SEACHA, I represented Thailand at COP28. This year, I am once again a part of the Thailand Delegation as a supporting climate negotiator. I hope to bring my insights back to other youth-led initiatives and working groups in my home country.

2. Tell us about your involvement with Climate Heritage Network

I met Andrew Potts from the Climate Heritage Network at the opening dinner of the Conference. We conversed about Southeast Asia's unique positionality as foci of linguistic and biodiversity.

Following the Conference, I was able to present my research at COP28 in Dubai last year with the help and support of the Climate Heritage Network and the Siam Society. I am also the Local Impact Producer of the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion, which the Climate Heritage Network is a community partner of. The Pavilion hosted our inaugural Asia Pacific programming in Bangkok, which allowed conversations on culture-based climate action to be held for the first time outside the Blue Zone of COPs.

The event was joined by Pornphrom Vikitsreth, Chief Sustainability Officer of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, First Secretary Sasiyada Naowanondha of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Counselor Michael Schmeiser from the Austrian Embassy in Thailand, and European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Member, and Chaipon Juntawang from the Department of Climate Change and Environment under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. This would not have been possible without the support of the Climate Heritage Network.

3. Tell us about your culture and entertainment programming for COP16

Although I was not directly involved with the programming at COP16, the E+C programming at COP16 involved significant figures from the arts and climate sector, such as Célia Xakriabá from the Brazilian National Congress and Ecuadorian activist Nina Gualinga. The E+C Pavilion partnered with the International Environmental Film Festival of Cali, the Migrant Cinema Festival of Colombia, and the Itinerant International Film and Environmental Festival of the Amazon which underscores the intersection of culture and climate.

4. Tell us about your culture and entertainment programming for COP29

I felt that with the presence of cultural figures such as Stella McCartney, Naomi Campbell, and Ellie Goulding at COP28 last year, the fashion, entertainment, and arts and culture sector are really trying to make an indelible mark in the climate space. To see such cultural figures within the same spaces as diplomats, ministers, policymakers, presidents, prime ministers, and heads of states truly gave me an impression that the intersection between culture and climate is cemented in Dubai.

Naturally at COP29 in Baku this year, I aim to create a program that would pick up the momentum. The Thailand Pavilion will host a fashion show, in collaboration with TTA LAB and SACIT, in order to promote cultural diplomacy among Thai and international delegates at COP29.

We have, in store, designs made of Thai silk and textiles, which are crafted to showcase the unique distinctions of each Thai province. In collaboration with the China delegation, the fashion show will also showcase Chinese textiles. We are also looking to involve other delegations, particularly from Latin America and Pacific Islands, for the show.

Ultimately COP and other climate conferences is a stage of cultural diplomacy. Whenever I attend functions in traditional Thai Chitralada silk dresses, other delegations will spark a conversation about where I come from. I was propelled to showcase Thai textiles internationally at such conferences. Wherever I go, I carry a piece of Thailand with me. I hope that this fashion show will be a starting point in allowing other like-minded delegates who wear their culture on their sleeves to learn from one another at international conferences.

Yes, climate negotiations will always be, undeniably, key to COP. We recall the importance of the climate negotiations in Cancun in 2010, Paris in 2015, and in Katowice in 2018 that allowed for climate policies and goals to be what they are today. However, we must always remember that beyond negotiation rooms are real people from real countries that face real climate calamities which threaten their culture, livelihood, economy, and political stability.

Cultural diplomacy in climate, therefore, is nothing new. The organizers of this fashion show and I hope that this programming will allow for the recognition of culture-based climate action.

5. Do you participate in other climate-related conferences, such as London Climate Action Week, Climate Week LA, or Climate Week NYC?

The E + C Pavilion and friends of the Pavilion participated in SB60, LA Climate Week, and Climate Week NYC. I personally participated in COP28 and am part of the current delegation at COP29. I also look forward to being part of future COP and Climate Week delegations.

6. How can art and culture articulate climate change-related issues?

I became interested in climate action when advocating for reproductive rights. I was involved with pad drives and quickly realized that water and sanitation are significant to healthcare, especially among women in domestic violence shelters. I was propelled to learn more about intersectional environmentalism and the gendered dimensions of impacts from climate change.

With my affinity to arts and culture, I saw this shared interest in intersectional environmentalism among artists, filmmakers, and cultural institutions I know. Climate conference jargon may create barriers for climate literacy among the public, but the nature of art remains that it reaches the depths of humanity.

When one looks at Ana Mendieta's Silueta series (1973 - 1980), one may feel the pain of a woman experiencing displacement due to climate-induced migration. If one were to look at Olafur Eliasson's The Weather Project (2003) or Kim Sooja's Sowing Into Painting (2020), one cannot help but be reminded of climate change.

These works of art facilitate a space and possibility for dialogue and introspection and often are the unsung catalysts of change. When Kim Sooja showcased the Bottari Truck in Exile (1999) at the 48th Venice Biennale, for example, the installation underscored the living conditions of the Kosovo War refugees and touched upon displacement and cultural identity. At the time, the installation spoke to the humanitarian crises faced by many.

Similarly, when Agnes Denes created Wheatfield - A Confrontation (1982) or when Aura Satz created While Smoke Signals (2023), I think the art world is trying to have a conversation with society at large about climate. As an art writer who is also a climate negotiator, I am grateful to have come across initiatives such as the Gallery Climate Coalition, the Entertainment and Culture Pavilion, and the Creatives for Climate Action Thailand which operates at this intersection. I hope to contribute more to culture-based climate action space in the future.

In Baku, I am looking forward to viewing Parallel Worlds at the Gazelli Art House, which draws its inspiration from the thematic happenings of COP29.

7. How can young artists get involved with your activities

Young artists can get involved with the Entertainment and Culture Pavilion and Creatives for Climate Action Thailand by reaching out to us via email at

info@entertainmentculturepavilion.org
lidia@creativemigration.org.

If you are hosting studio visits or showcasing at galleries near me whenever I'm in town, feel free to also send me a message.

8. Anything else you would like to add

What I am also excited about at COP29 is sharing the Creatives for Climate Action Thailand toolkit with other delegates. The toolkit's objective is to provide a practical guide to sustainable practices for organizations and individuals involved in the arts and culture in Thailand.

First launched in Bangkok at the Austrian Embassy this October, the toolkit is headed for its G20 Summit launch via Susannah Tantemsapya this November. The toolkit will also launch at COP29 via myself at the Thailand Pavilion. If you are a delegate looking to learn more, please feel free to pop by the Pavilion.

9. How can people get in touch with you?

You can get in touch with me via the Thailand Youth Climate Council which will launch on social media platforms very soon.