What does a Fresker do at a wedding?
That wasn’t a trick question! He raises awareness of climate change! You probably guessed it straight away ; ) Would you have thought of doing it?
Michaël dared to do it! First of all at his sister’s wedding last September near Poitiers then he did it again for his brother’s in April in Yvelines. That’s two bets won. It has become a family tradition !
At the beginning, only Michaël thought it was possible. He quickly asked for his sisters approval to do a quiz at her wedding. She accepted just to keep him happy, which was very nice of her! Michaël’s mum, already fresked by Michaël couldn’t believe it. But then, on this first wedding day, 45 people surrounded our Fresker to learn as much as possible. So, it was easier for the second wedding … his brother and sister in law actually asked him to do it for them ; )
During his speech in the second wedding, Michaël slipped an invitation to take part in a Climate Fresk quiz the following day over lunch. It was a sunny day but everyone was tired from the festivities of the previous night. But then again, this was the Sunday of the presidential elections, the perfect time to talk about the environment!
One person came up to Michaël asking to see this famous Fresk, then some friends of Michaël rounded up another 35 people, who weren’t particularly interested in the topic. They gathered around him – a real crowd!
So, Michaël did the quiz. The participants asked a huge amount of questions and made lots of interesting remarks. They discussed the spread of global emissions according to wealth and topics like the triangle of inaction. Michaël answered their questions and broadened their perspectives on certain received wisdom and spoke about the IPCC and their reports. A real awareness raising activity! Then they all shared how they were feeling together. Because they were so interested, Michaël continued the experience using the tool “Let’s invent our low carbon lives”.
The guests, friends and families of the couple all mixed together. They shared their points of views, their fears and their visions for the future. They naturally broke out into smaller groups to carry on the discussions.
It was a touching moment of collectivity, full of learning and reflection. That’s the Fresk philosophy.
“I loved the experience and all of the participants’ feedback. A real pleasure to see so many family and friends get together to discuss this subject. It goes to show that we can use the Fresk in pretty much any context!” Michaël told us.
He invited everyone to take part in a Climate Fresk workshop and to become facilitators. They asked him for the website.
Michaël demonstrated the idea that you can reduce your carbon footprint by influencing the people around you, and in particular by becoming a Climate Fresk facilitator. One of his friends told other people around it, including at her work. Who knows what will come of it? Some seeds have been planted. Some have already germinated, others might take longer.
Here’s another easy riddle for you: what does a Fresker do in a Buddhist monastery? Michaël has also fresked the monks and nuns in the Village des Pruniers during a meditation retreat.
What about you? Have you fresked in surprising places? Has this given you ideas? Make it happen and tell us how it goes : )
PS: As a heads up, a new tool is coming that will replace the quiz … We’ll show it to you soon!