Storming the Apocalypse is a global communications impact project using storytelling to bridge the gap between data-driven climate science and low levels of public risk perception around extreme weather and climate change impacts.

In this cooperative initiative, we explore the cultural, economic, political, sociological, and cognitive science-based ways that people make decisions around personal risk. Storming the Apocalypse harnesses belief systems, shared values, and collective imagination. New tools using storytelling arts to culturally translate climate risks, can emotionally drive awareness and increase climate disaster preparedness.

In four city case studies— Kampala, Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro, and New York City—multi-stakeholder collaboration is happening with cultural partners, communities, local governments, and UNFCCC networks.

Using site specific training workshops and labs, each co-created and process-driven case study will produce distinctive methodologies for the cultural translation of climate risk priorities. These results yielding new thinking, will be published in an open-access digital toolkit, with analyses that encourage the model to be scaled at large.

Front-line communities, academia, participatory arts organizations, cultural heritage groups, regional and municipal policy leaders will collaborate in the testing, analysis, and scaling of storytelling solutions, including the exploration of commons-based governance systems.

This cooperative initiative aligns with the goals of the UNFCCC, and the Sustainable Development Goals. It addresses the underfulfilled goals of Article 12 of the Paris Agreement by using cultural infrastructure to build cross-sector working relationships between artists, cultural workers and governments to improve education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information and international cooperation on climate change around disaster preparedness and climate policy.