We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Antonia A Estall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Antonia, we appreciate your joining us today. One of the things we most admire about your organization is its ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your non-profit organization does that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it, as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

At Creatives for Climate, we offer tangible solutions for the climate crisis.

The climate crisis is inherently daunting, as the implications are felt globally, most often by those with the least resources to combat its effects.

As the Asia Pacific lead for Creatives Climate NGO, I am deeply proud of the way the organization has taken a solutions-oriented approach to ensuring a just transition to an equitable future. My heritage is both Cook Islander and Irish.

Creatives for Climate presents tangible ways of creating climate impact – we are walking the talk and building a movement to bring others along.

Our actions include:

• The Global Chapter Model:

Creatives for Climate has opened up the stage to invite more of its community to meet and gather in person wherever they are in the world. This allows voices from different communities to ensure their voices are heard within the climate movement.

We are inviting supporting members who have followed our pathway for change to submit concepts for events as a Creatives for Climate City Lead Ambassador. The (pilot) program is designed to help change agents anywhere in the world meet and connect with like-minded allies!

• The Hub:

The Hub is a place to gain new skills, find climate jobs, work on creative projects, and meet your people. It’s also a place for climate organizations to share research, reports, or calls to action, and for agencies to showcase their creative approach to climate challenges!

• The Ethical Agency Alliance:

An alliance of value-aligned agencies that take a stand in their work to use business as a force for good. We champion their work as an inspiration to others, support them with opportunities, and foster collective action.

Antonia A, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am the founder of a natural fiber startup, Fine, as well as the Asia Pacific lead for Creatives for Climate NGO.

My journey into climate impact work was definitely not linear. I pursued my degree in Textile Design, which ignited a passion for sustainability, particularly concerning the toxicity and waste of the textile industry. During my degree, I focused on my Cook Island heritage and the decolonization movement.

After graduating, I entered the textile industry, which left me discontent with the realities of the damage caused by the overconsumption of cheap and low-quality textiles.

The onset of Covid marked the beginning of my career as a freelancer and in the startup space. I gained experience in the consulting industry and worked in social media. When the opportunity arose to align my passions for climate justice and creativity by working with Creatives for Climate NGO, I jumped at it.

My background in design has allowed me to tackle difficult problems in a unique way, whether it be advocating for industry change in advertising or harnessing the potential of natural fibers.

One aspect of Creatives for Climate that I am most proud of is the Chapter model, which empowers leaders from across the globe to be pioneers in the field and differentiate themselves, with support and championing from our team.

How did you build your audience on social media?

In my work with Creatives for Climate, our founder, Lucy von Sturmer, has imparted a very valuable lesson: campaigning is the impact we make. Developing a strong social media presence is crucial to movement building. Using social media channels to champion your mission is an amazing opportunity to find like-minded thinkers and create change.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

For me, it is deeply important to consider that there are other ways of doing and knowing, especially in the climate space, which has a tendency to lack diversity.

The significance of diversity, in my opinion, has very little to do with virtue signaling representation; however, it is an opportunity to solve wicked problems. It is a widely known fact that indigenous people are the stewards of most of the world’s biodiversity. When we look to solve the climate crisis, it feels like a massively opposite move to center those who are already succeeding. By combining indigenous knowledge systems into the climate movement, we are presented with an opportunity to create the systematic change we continue to call for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.creativesforclimate.co/?gclid=CjwKCAiAzJOtBhALEiwAtwj8tttqsBdsQASel_KrxE0ugt84sPSs-tTe8yE7kED_6rd11olsGsh9NhoCVNEQAvD_BwE
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creatives_for_climate/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creatives-for-climate/

Image Credits
Connor hill