IMMA EARTH RISING is a four-day festival of free events and experiences aimed at addressing the climate crisis and inspiring collective action towards a sustainable and hopeful future.

Taking place from Thursday, September 21st to Sunday, September 24th 2023, at the landmark Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin, Earth Rising hopes to empower audiences to become agents of change.

Photo: Sarah Fitzgerald

As part of the event, GOAL NextGen, GOAL's Youth Programme, is bringing a collaborative cross-cultural photography exhibition and panel discussion to the festival.

The 'Climate & Food X-Change' will explore the central importance of global food systems to climate solutions. It is part of a series of creative productions by GOAL NextGen X-Change to elevate and connect the voices of the next generation in a changing world.

The exhibition is the result of young people from across the world coming together to discuss what climate change and food systems mean to them.

Maria de Jesus by Carol Rubi

Participants were invited to contribute to the exchange by submitting a photo that connects them to climate or food systems. The exhibition emphasises the ways in which all people and communities are connected to each other through experiences of climate change and global food systems.

The NextGen X-Change panel discussion, which takes place in the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin at 11am on Friday, September 22nd (Culture Night) at the People’s Pavilion, will explore the power of art to inspire and create collaboration and change.

The panel will be hosted by RTÉ presenter Emer O'Neill and will include young people from Ireland, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Ethiopia - all members of GOAL’s NextGen Youth Programme.

RTÉ presenter Emer O'Neill

Speaking about the event, Emer O'Neill said that the panel is "an example of the kind of creative collaboration the world needs right now.

"We have a dynamic lineup of NextGen members taking part in this X-Change who will talk about their communities’ experiences and the importance of solidarity, connection, and creativity in creating meaningful change in the world."