A report evaluating the 2023 Reading Climate Festival as outlined in Appendix 1 and recognising the efforts of the partners in securing the success of the Festival.

The Committee received a report which gave an evaluation of the 2023 Reading Climate Festival that had taken place from 10-21 June 2023 with the stated aim of ‘inspiring and encouraging positive action on climate change’.

The report explained that the Festival had been run by the Reading Climate Action Network (RCAN), the public-facing brand of the Reading Climate Change Partnership, a multi-agency partnership for which the Council acted as host and accountable body. In 2023 RCAN, the Council, the University of Reading and the Reading Economic & Development Agency (REDA) recognised the potential of a partnership approach to deliver against a number of shared objectives.  These included showcasing the important role Reading has played on the world stage in understanding and addressing climate change, informing and engaging the community about the work towards a net-zero, climate resilient town by 2030 and inspiring and facilitating individuals/families to make clear pledges to adopt greener behaviours in support of our community’s effort to address climate change. The Gaia Evaluation Report was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

The report informed the Committee that the centrepiece of the Festival had been the exhibition of a major international artwork, Luke Jerram’s Gaia, at Reading Town Hall engaging more than 13,000 people over 20 events held across Reading, attracting people from all parts of Reading and the UK. As well as engaging a wide range of people in conversations about climate change, the festival represented a significant cultural, educational and economic event for Reading as a whole. The costs of bringing Gaia to Reading were recovered through income, delivering high value at little or no cost to the public purse.  The Committee was shown a video highlighting the installation and related activities.

The report explained that Gaia, as part of the Reading Climate Festival, had helped to engage new people in the climate conversation growing the audience by approximately 1,200% in one year. The combined cooperation and use of each partner’s online resources meant that reaching a wider audience was possible. This event put Reading on the map and engaged Reading residents that might not have previously engaged in the festival. Key outcomes from the Festival in 2023 included:

·        12,000 people attended Gaia at the Reading Climate Festival, of whom approximately 24% were from outside the town. A further 1,300 attended other events at the festival.

·        The partnership’s social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn) impressions were 283,772. The Council’s reach was 82,893. 100,000 people were reached via newsletters.

·        Via the What’sOnReading.com website the Gaia webpage had 23,615 unique page views (16,649 Unique Users) from the 23 March to the 21 June, an impressive number when compared to a Reading favourite, the annual Panto which had 52,049 unique page views (37,844 unique users) for the calendar year of 2022.

·        The Committees from both Reading Central and Abbey Quarter Business Improvement Districts (BID), representing over 700 local businesses, voted unanimously to support the installation of Gaia.

·        During the Gaia exhibition, the BID sponsored three separate events developed to engage the local businesses and their workforce: including a talk by bushcraft and survival expert, Ray Mears. This engaged with nearly 300 people from 100 local businesses.

·        The Festival had enhanced Reading’s sense of place and reinforced its identity as a place which was engaged with the climate change issue.  In a post-event survey 90% of respondents who were from Reading said Gaia and the ancillary programme had made them feel proud of the town.

·        Climate anxiety was a growing concern in the UK, with 80% of those surveyed by Statista having some concern about climate change. Many people reported feeling daunted by the enormity of the problem, and by incorporating the RCAN Small Pledge initiative into the booking process it was hoped that this sense of helplessness could be alleviated and participants given a sense of agency. Details of the impact of these small changes were set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

·        Of the 503 people who responded to a post event survey, 25% were moved to join the climate action conversation as a result of seeing Gaia.

·        The festival engaged young people: The Reading Museum Education Team and University of Reading managed the schools’ outreach programme for Gaia engaging with 18 primary schools and 6 secondary schools.

The report added that plans for the 2024 Reading Climate Festival, centred around Show Your Stripes Day on 21 June, were already in development with the same partners. The partnership was keen to build on the success of the 2023 festival and Arts and Culture would continue to feature strongly and a full legacy plan were set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

Resolved:

(1)      That the evaluation of the 2023 Reading Climate Festival as outlined in Appendix 1 to the report be noted and the efforts of the partners be recognised;

(2)      That the impact of Luke Jerram’s Gaia on participation and engagement in Reading Climate Festival 2023 be noted;

(3)      That the value of arts, culture and creativity in engaging people in wider social issues, in this case, climate change, be noted.