Autumn Film Series At Visual Carlow

County Carlow Environmental Network (CCEN) are delighted to be partnering with Visual Carlow once more, where we will be showing three environmental films for the Autumn and Winter of 2024. Thanks to Arts Council and Local Councillor Funding, our first screening will be on Wednesday, 25th September at 7pm where we are pleased to share The Rights of Nature. A facilitated discussion will take place after the film in the bar, along with a raffle.

The Rights of Nature – A Global Movement

Western views and the legal system tend to view nature as property, and as a resource from which wealth is extracted, a commodity whose only value is to provide for human needs. But for millennia indigenous communities have viewed themselves as part of nature.

As pressures on ecosystems mount and as conventional laws seem increasingly inadequate to address environmental degradation, communities, cities, regions and countries around the world are turning to a new legal strategy known as The Rights of Nature.

This film takes viewers on a journey that explores the more recent origins of this legal concept, and its application and implementation in Ecuador, New Zealand, and the United States. Learn how constitutional reforms adopted in Ecuador have helped recognize nature as a legal entity, and how partnerships between the Māori and the government of New Zealand have led to personhood status for rivers, lakes and forests, and a renewed sense of balance between people and nature. See how the Rights of Nature function in the urban setting of Santa Monica, California. The film explores the successes and challenges inherent in creating new legal structures that have the potential to maintain and restore ecosystems while achieving a balance between humans and nature.

It is still a small group, but the scientists and environmental activists who have vowed to change our concept of nature forever are celebrating their first successes. They are fighting for the recognition of inalienable, enforceable basic rights for nature – worldwide.

This screening will be followed by a talk (speaker TBA) and community discussion about how ideas from this film could be implemented in an Irish or local context.

Bookings

This is a free event but we urge you to book your tickets online, in person or over the phone at Visual Carlow Box Office. CCEN is a voluntary group. We will be holding a raffle on the night to help us with our overhead costs, and to allow us to bring our activities to all.