WISH: Waterloo Initiative of Solarpunk and Hope

WISH: Waterloo Initiative of Solarpunk and Hope

We explore the emerging literary and artistic genre of solarpunk, which imagines positive futures rooted in climate justice, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and sustainability. Our mandate is to draw attention to the intersection of eco-friendly design and technology and social/cultural transformations in solving and slowing the climate crisis. Our work invites students to apply a future-oriented, optimistic lens to problem-solving and to communicate these solutions through creative storytelling.

OUR MISSION:

To encourage instructors to introduce environmental themes and optimistic frameworks into their teaching practices.

To encourage the University of Waterloo campus community to research and envision solutions to the climate crisis and communicate these solutions through storytelling and artistic design.

To develop students’ ability to draw connections between environmental justice and social justice.

To position students as leaders of positive social change.

To explore the connections between Afrofuturisms, Indigenous futurisms, and solarpunk. 

To combat the rise of climate anxiety on campus.

To build a thriving, diverse, interdisciplinary community oriented around sustainable futures, optimism, social progress, and environmentalism.

To foster artistic individuality and self-expression alongside creative and critical thinking.