Heal Country Heal Climate by Josie Atkinson

2023 Global Climate Change Week

"Heal Country, Heal Climate" // Artwork by artist, Indigenous Research Assistant and UOW Masters student Josie Atkinson. The design represents the diverse waterways and land of healthy 'Country' and the ancestral song lines of the First Nations Peoples of Australia. (This image is not allowed to be downloaded for any other use, personal or commercial.)

Global Climate Change Week (GCCW) encourages Universities and their communities across all disciplines and countries to engage with each other, their communities, and policy makers on climate change action and solutions. Held annually in October, Global Climate Change Week provides an open-ended framework for voluntary activities aimed at raising awareness, inspiring behaviour change, and driving political transformation in relation to climate policy.

Connecting Minds for a Sustainable Climate Future 

Date: 16-20 October 2023

Our theme this year is Connecting Minds for a Sustainable Climate Future. In collaboration with local and international partners we will be hosting online seminars and discussions focussed on the impact of our changing climate with potential solutions and mitigation strategies. So far we are happy to be partnering with the following amazing organisations in our communities and welcome more opportunities.  Thank you to UOW Pulse, Healthy Cities Illawarra (HCI), and Wollongong City Council.  

We will have a suite of in-person activities targeted at supporting healthy and sustainable practices.  

GCCW is going to be a great week, filled with planet-positive aspirations and inspiring stories, knowledge sharing and ideas, and discussions on how partnerships can maximise actions to protect our planet. 

The first GCCW was held in October 2015. In 2014, a group of academics and students at the University of Wollongong (UOW) developed a committee and organised a workshop held on December 4-5 2014 at the University of Wollongong. Twenty-two people participated, including academics from seven Australian universities and a number of activists. The workshop was a great success; many new ideas emerged, the vision and mission statements were drafted, and some of the committees running GCCW today were established, including the original coordinating committee.  

The University of Tasmania is currently proudly coordinating GCCW across the sector and has created resources and a website to facilitate activities across the globe. 

Get involved by

  1. Register to an event below!
  2. Continue the conversation online using the hashtag #UOWGCCW to share your thoughts and ideas with our online community
  3. Follow UOW Pulse on Facebook, who share great resources, events and competitions
  4. Take part in community-friendly activities listed below

Poster making competition

All UOW (Australia, Dubai, Hong Kong, Malaysia) staff and students and community members are invited to create a poster on the this year’s Global Climate Change Week theme Connecting Minds for a Sustainable Climate Future. All posters will be judged by the UOW Dubai team of Faculty members and Certificates of Award given to winners and runner-ups.

Found out more and submit your poster (PDF)

Events - October 2023

Wollongong Climate Change Mitigation Plan: Consultation
Girl with long ginger hair reading a book, wearing glasses Climate Change for Children Book Club
Wollongong City Libraries: Reading collections for Global Climate Change Week
A pile of plastic is seen on a beach, with the ocean in the background. Photo: Soren Funk/Unsplash Impact of microplastics on human and planetary health
Wollongong Climate Change Mitigation Plan: Online info session
Student riding bike on Wollongong campus outside Library Ride2UOW
Tour of SBRC and Desert Rose House
GCCW Day on Campus
Connecting Over Fair Food
Antarctic biodiversity modelling with uncertainty quantification
Two people looking happy nearby racks of clothing. Op Shop Ball 2023
Sustainability and Climate Change in the Curriculum Symposium

International events

Two people wearing blue tops and white gloves, putting rubbish in a bag World Cleanup Day 2023 (UOW Malaysia)
Small globe held in hands Global Climate Change Exhibition 2023 (UOW Malaysia)

Resources

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that these resources may contain images, voices and videos of deceased persons. Users are warned that there may be words and descriptions that may be culturally sensitive and which might not normally be used in certain public or community contexts.