@OliviaVespera @dilmandila Thank you for sharing (and writing) this interesting article! 🙏 I've been looking for African, Indigenous, and generally non-western #scifi and #solarpunk to read and watch. Now I know to search #africanfuturism for less westernized works 😁🙏
Dilman's discussion about the dystopian futures portrayed in media hit a nerve! Most media depicts a horrible, capitalist future. Combined with the stark lack of positive future examples, it's conditioning people to believe that a dystopian world is either cool or inevitable. Both are bad.
I've also been seeing solarpunk popping up for a while, but didn't pay much attention, I don't know why... Probably I was so focused on #permaculture (which is traditionally white male dominated), and frankly I've kinda had my head in the sand for the last two years 😅 But the more I learn about it, the more it resonates with me, both in my life actions and my writing.
I want to write things that might give a glimmer of hope. That envision what could be possible if humanity truly worked together and had the well-being of all people and the planet as top priorities. That remind people that we don't need some technology to save us and the planet... We need social will, community, and individual and collective action.
We had a discussion with our community art/eco crew about the solarpunk label and paradigm, and we collectively love it! Environment, connection, creativity, etc are important (to us and for the future), but are often seen as "hippie", which unfortunately has some negative connotation. Particularly in our community here in Athens, Greece which is traditionally anarchist/activist/alternative with heavy punk vibes. Solarpunk is something most of us identify more with than hippie, and it's a way to build bridges and discuss local environmental actions in an essentially anti hippie community. So many movements and pockets of #socialjustice (especially in our community) just ignore environmental issues, or give a passing nod at best. Social justice is beyond important, but at the end of the day, does anything really matter if we don't have food and clean air/water? We think solarpunk could be a great way to start bridging that gap.
I used to think permaculture was going to save the planet, but now I'm pretty sure it's going to be solarpunk 😅💚