What if the bosses of 2050 made the rules today?
The people making decisions about 2050 today probably won’t be the ones in charge when we get there. And the people who will be in charge then, don’t have much of a say yet…
Because: A 36-year-old in 2050 was only nine in 2023. So when the municipality of Ede asked us to create a campaign to get today’s residents excited about becoming climate neutral by 2050, our first decision was not to make the campaign ourselves.
Instead, we suggested asking the future bosses and mayors.
Future bosses and mayors
We put together a quick education workshop, where a group of seven to nine-year-olds learned about the science behind climate change: what is happening, why it is happening and what needs to change.
But if they were going to make a campaign, they also needed to know how advertising works. So we learned them how advertising works; how to come up with an idea, turn it into a message and make a poster. Then they were given the brief:
What do you think people should change today to make a climate neutral 2050 possible?
And their solutions were wonderfully specific:
Grandpas and grandmas should switch to electric campers. Pets were politely asked to eat less meat. Company owners should turn off machines when they’re not using them. And the mayor? He should only shop for second-hand clothes.
Less CO2 and more rainbows
Other posters showed the future they wanted to see, and the things they thought needed to start changing now to make it possible: more nature, an electric aeroplane, climate police on horses, less CO2 and more rainbows.
The children’s posters became the actual outdoor campaign during the Week of the Climate and were exhibited at Ede City Hall.
Credits
Concept: Merel Witteman & Manon van Hoeckel
Copy: Evelien Vos
Commissioned by: Gemeente Ede
Poster designs: Nynke (35 in 2050), Manon (35 in 2050), Rosalie (36 in 2050), Miguel (35 in 2050), Janita (35 in 2050), Bram (35 in 2050), Jens (34 in 2050), Daan (35 in 2050), Stijn (35 in 2050), Josie (36 in 2050), Oliver (35 in 2050)
