Conference Presentation, Panel
National Geographic Society - Storytelling as an Agent of Change: Talks at GS Session Highlights
- By 2100, humanity faces a trajectory of losing half of all species if current trends continue.
- The PhotoArk project, a 25-year initiative, aims to document 12,000 species to counter predicted biodiversity loss.
- Over the next three years, Dr. Enric Sala plans to visit 12 additional pristine ocean locations and protect 20 of the wildest remaining ocean sites.
- The conflict in eastern Congo, fueled by resource extraction, is expected to persist, driving massive displacement and high mortality rates.
- Conflict mineral stories are projected to reach a larger audience and influence electronic manufacturers to alter supply chain practices.
- A story regarding the discovery of a city in the Honduran rainforest is anticipated to appear in print a few months after its initial online release as an expanded narrative.
- The Lee Berger discovery story is predicted to become the second best-selling story of the current year.
- Leaders are expected to be inspired to protect critical areas by viewing visual representations of potential futures.
- In December, there is an expectation of influencing leaders to commit to bold and significant climate action in Paris.
- The migratory and refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe is not expected to resolve spontaneously and requires integration rather than exclusion.
- Young people are anticipated to remain highly engaged with sustainability, climate change, and species preservation issues.
- Future National Geographic stories are expected to simultaneously incorporate several of the five core storytelling principles.
- There is a strategic hope to change how leaders and citizens approach refugee integration, modeling the approach used at the end of the Second World War.