February 6: Young Authors and The Anthropocene
About the Event
Join Aneesa Jamal in conversation with four young Indian climate authors who published illustrated children’s books on climate change in Chennai, India through Aneesa’s Young Climate Authors program.The free-flowing conversation will address how the young authors shaped their stories based on their climate learning experiences and understanding of power, privilege and marginalization; their sense of identity as authors and change-makers and their perceptions about climate change.
The featured books include
- The Hidden Ones about indigenous knowledge and lived experience of local fisher Palayam Anna.
- The Day Sarah made Justice about a little farmer girl who fights …
- Electric Shock examines electric vehicles as a climate solution in Chennai.
- Beneath the Burning Layer about a climate activist in Chennai.
The webinar will take place on February 6, 6-7pm central.
About the Speakers
Aneesa Jamal is a doctoral student at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and is working on the impact of storytelling as a way to teach about climate change. As a part of the research, she designed the Young Climate Authors Program (YCA) and the associated Educator Training which has equipped educators in ten countries across three continents to implement the YCA in their communities. The goal of her work is to decolonize and broaden the climate fiction canon by bringing in rarely heard voices of children and youth from the Global South. She can be reached at [email protected].
Abdullah Ibrahim, 16, author of The Hidden Ones, is a learner at Sunnyside Learning Initiatives, an alternative school in Chennai, India. He is outgoing & loves to work on anything hands on. His interests lie in child development, philosophy, carpentry, tinkering and soccer.
A. Mohammad Ashfaque, 15, author of Beneath the Burning Layer, studies at Sunnyside Learning Initiatives in Chennai, India. He is earnest about writing and painting.
Maryam Shariff, 13, author of Electric Shock, has an unwavering passion for reading and writing books. She also happens to be the author of Amira's Green Friends and Electric Shock. She was a student at Sunnyside Learning Initiatives in Chennai, India, before she moved to Freemont, CA.
Hana Basheer, 11, author of The Day Sarah made Justice, studies at Scholars Academy, a Montessori resource center in Chennai, India. She loves reading fiction books, because they take her into different worlds. One of her favorite books is Paws of the Cheddarface, by Geronimo Stilton.
Rescheduled for March 6: When the Oceans Rise, Who Gets A Life Raft? Inequality and Climate Change in Sci-Fi
About the event
In this talk, Toliver explores how speculative fiction addresses climate change and social inequality through Sherri L. Smith’s Orleans and Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Both novels depict dystopian futures shaped by environmental collapse and social fragmentation, with marginalized communities bearing the brunt. Orleans highlights Fen’s struggle for survival in a devastated Gulf Coast, while Parable of the Sower follows Lauren Olamina through a fractured California, showcasing resilience against systemic injustice. Toliver reveals how these works not only critique our current path but also challenge us to envision bold, just, and sustainable futures.
March 6, 2025; 4-5pm central. Registration is required.
About the speaker
Stephanie R. Toliver is an assistant professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.