One Small Seed: Small Seed Films at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in New York

In May 2010 I was invited to take part in the 18th meeting of the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD18) at the United Nations HQ in New York, to represent my uranium mining documentary, "Where the Clouds Come Home".

I was working with the CSD Education Caucus, a small but influential group concerned with Environmental Education in the broadest sense - not dealing just with schools and academia, but looking at questions of how we educate and empower citizens of all ages at all levels of society to make sound environmental choices for a sustainable future. Which is where things like film-making come in.

I was inspired by the amount of conversation taking place about the importance of culture in creating a sustainable future. It was recognised by many that writing policy and establishing global standards is necessary - and vital - but these cannot exist in isolation. A truly sustainable future depends on citizens being empowered to make sound environmental decisions. For this to be the case, we need not just a political paradigm shift but a cultural revolution which helps citizens recognise their own status as environmental decision-makers; a global conversation expressed through cultural and artistic output on what it means to work responsibly with our environment and each other for a sustainable future. As a film-maker I was encouraged to hear representatives at the United Nations call on cultural producers to contribute to this global conversation and to recognise their position of power in shaping our global future.

While the two-week intergovernmental meeting was taking place, NGOs and delegations organised a number of different side events to raise issues relevant to the discussions. I was invited to present the "Where the Clouds Come Home" trailer at three of these side events. The most prominent of these was organised by WECF (Women in Europe for a Common Future), on the affects of uranium mining on indigenous populations. WECF had gathered representatives from the Navajo Indians, Niger and Meghalaya to speak about the effects uranium mining has had on them and their people. I presented the trailer to provide a perspective from Meghalaya, and I'm pleased to say it was very well received. After my short presentation and a successful screening, Bremley Lyngdoh, who introduced me to the Meghalaya story and who features in the film, gave a presentation about his experiences and reflections.

In total during the fortnight I screened the trailer to around 200 including government officials, NGO representatives and potential future partners, received some very positive feedback, and made contact with some fantastic people. I'm excited by the potential this has opened up for not only this film but other, future projects, and I'm in discussion right now about raising funds through one of the organisations I met there. The challenge now will be to turn those opportunities into practical developments.