Prahelika Deka, SB64 Delegate

What is your area of work and how does it relate to SB64?

My PhD research explores how people imagine and engage with multiple, possible climate futures, particularly in contexts of riverine communities in Majuli Island, Assam, India. As such, I am also interested in participatory and creative approaches to climate engagement and adaptation, including how people respond to and make sense of environmental changes.

At SB64, I will be participating in the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Gallery to present the University of Leeds’ student-led poster work on addressing eco-anxiety on 8th June. This work aligns closely with ACE by exploring how education, dialogue, emotional support, and collective engagement can help people, especially the youth, to respond constructively to climate change. On June 9th and 11th, I will facilitate breakout discussions for the ACE Dialogue and Technical Workshop.

What are the big issues that SB64 needs to address?

One of the major challenges SB64 needs to address is how climate action can meaningfully engage people beyond technical and policy spaces. As climate impacts intensify, eco-emotions, such as anxiety, grief, solastalgia, and feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness, are becoming increasingly common, especially among young people. Addressing these emotional dimensions is essential for sustaining long-term climate engagement and collective action.

SB64 has an important opportunity to strengthen inclusive and participatory approaches to climate communication, education and public engagement. This includes recognising the value of creative, community-led and emotionally supportive spaces that help people navigate climate uncertainty while remaining connected to positive actions and hopes.

What are your hopes for the conference?

At SB64, I hope to learn from practitioners, educators, youth representatives, Indigenous peoples and local communities working at the intersection of climate justice, public engagement, and climate empowerment. I am particularly interested in how climate futures are relationally and emotionally experienced across different contexts and how these are communicated to help create more inclusive and emotionally grounded climate conversations.

At the same time, I hope to contribute to discussions on eco-anxiety and climate wellbeing by sharing the University of Leeds’ work on creating supportive spaces for collective dialogue and action.