It’s the Final Countdown!
Officially 1 month to go until the Highlands & Islands Climate Festival 2024 kicks off! We are very very excited as we see Events going onto the Map and the Festival coming to life. But how did we get here? Let’s give you a rundown of how we have being getting into Festival planning.
The Working Group Comes Together
Way back in May we had our first planning meeting with the Highlands & Islands Climate Festival working group! Our working group is made up of active community groups from all across the Highlands & Islands, who carry out climate action & are experts on community engagement.
The working group meets once a month to for always a jam-packed meeting to discuss Festival progress and how we can achieve our Festival goals! Feedback from the 2023 Festival was extremely positive and the bar is very high to create a bigger & better Festival for September 2024, but we think we can top it! ;-)
Website Renovations
You’ll have seen that our website looks slightly different this year - it got a makeover! And along with it, we rejuvenated our resources for community group who wish to get involved.
Our comprehensive Get Involved page details how Community Groups, Individuals, Businesses & Public Sector can get involved in the Festival.
Our Resources page is a section dedicated to helping Community Groups’ community-led climate action celebrations as straightforward as possible. We detail Sustainable Event Planning, Marketing & Branding, Staying Local and more!
Event Funding for Community Groups
This year we had 2 different funding options for Community Groups - a small Events Contribution or a Bespoke Larger Events Proposal.
We were excited to see both funding pots have really well planned & thought out events submitted. So far, we have approved funding for over 40 events taking place in September!
Launching the Events Maps for 2024
With over 40 events funded - it’s going to be a good Festival! Climate Action is diverse and takes many different forms - which is reflected in the vast variety of events we will see take place in September.
Our Events Map is a place for those hosting events during September to submit them to the Highlands & Islands wide map. It allows people across the region to see what is going on and creates a showcase of climate action. Community groups can submit both Festival exclusive & pre existing events to the Map - if they feature climate action or localism we want to feature them!
You can check out what is coming up near you by - we’ve already got guided walks, book clubs & fairs on the Map, so make sure to keep checking it!
What are we doing through August?
August is a time of final prep & excitement drive!
Our Community Development Officers are out & about helping community groups put their final touches on Event Plans. Our Senior Project Officers are ensuring groups have received their funding, and making sure we are getting the Festival word out far and wide - all while keeping you updated with progress!
It’s a busy & exciting time here at Festival HQ - see you in September!