{"componentChunkName":"component---src-gatsby-entities-reflection-tsx","path":"/perspectives/focusing-the-power-of-natures-narrative-villars-rapporteur-report","result":{"data":{"platform":{"reflection":{"id":"66c72a99c4dd5544b2bbc736","slug":"focusing-the-power-of-natures-narrative-villars-rapporteur-report","path":"/perspectives/focusing-the-power-of-natures-narrative-villars-rapporteur-report","name":"Focusing the Power of Nature’s Narrative: Villars Rapporteur Report ","name_fr":null,"title":null,"title_fr":null,"pretitle":null,"pretitle_fr":null,"subtitle":null,"subtitle_fr":null,"published":"2025-07-18T06:41:32.34","edited":null,"content":{"plain":"The Ideas\nThis discussion delved into the paramount importance of storytelling to change society. Two representatives from Open Planet Studios, a renowned nature-documentary studio, spoke about how action relies on meaningful narratives prevailing in society. \nStories help us “understand that which is beyond understanding and make sense of our world”. Stories create and shape personal and group identities; they define a people. Therefore, without powerful stories, it is impossible to redirect the narrative of a person and make change. Storytelling is a tool to “change the perspective of a large number of people”. A basis of public understanding and knowledge can “open up the space for politics and science” to make tangible progress. Currently, misconceptions and assumptions about our planet block the path to action - an example cited was that of bottom trawling: it is more harmful overall to the environment than plastics, releasing emissions on the same scale, yet is under-publicized. Therefore, no substantial successes have been made in mitigating it. Effective storytelling is crucial to combat this lack of awareness. \nUntil now, nature documentaries have shown nature in a “timeless state” - as people believe it has always been and always will be. Documentaries that revealed the truth and promoted a sustainable agenda often only reached a small audience, mainly those who already cared. Silverback Studios has pushed the boundaries of how far a climate message can go with the release of “A Life On Our Planet” with David Attenborough and “Breaking Boundaries” with Johan Rockström. Similarly, targeted films can “personalise and directionalise a story”, informing and influencing specific audiences. The success of these projects has brought public understanding, activism and funding for promising future action. \nScientists and politicians often dismiss filmmaking and storytelling as unimportant and “fluffy”, but we must not underestimate its power to change societal mindsets. The discussion further delved into the mechanisms of societal change: moving from a place of no motivators and only barriers to action to one where there are only motivators. Society must move from precontemplation (I don’t understand why change is needed) to contemplation (I support/don’t oppose change), to preparation (I want or need to change but don’t understand how to), and finally to action (I am changing). Mass media can help bring about the mass attitude change needed to move from precontemplation to contemplation by creating an “appetite for change in consumers and voters”. Media campaigns targeted at politicians and business leaders can bring about mass intent change, responding to the global demand for change. Finally, tech tools such as Silverback Studio’s new Open Planet free footage library can spark the final mass behaviour change that brings society to action. \nThe beauty of the sustainability movement is that “we don’t have to compete, we can cooperate”. By sharing tools and stories, we can unite around the common goal of good for the planet and people. \n","text":"## The Ideas  \n\nThis discussion delved into the paramount importance of storytelling to change society. Two representatives from Open Planet Studios, a renowned nature-documentary studio, spoke about how action relies on meaningful narratives prevailing in society. \n\nStories help us “understand that which is beyond understanding and make sense of our world”. Stories create and shape personal and group identities; they define a people. Therefore, without powerful stories, it is impossible to redirect the narrative of a person and make change. Storytelling is a tool to “change the perspective of a large number of people”. A basis of public understanding and knowledge can “open up the space for politics and science” to make tangible progress. Currently, misconceptions and assumptions about our planet block the path to action - an example cited was that of bottom trawling: it is more harmful overall to the environment than plastics, releasing emissions on the same scale, yet is under-publicized. Therefore, no substantial successes have been made in mitigating it. Effective storytelling is crucial to combat this lack of awareness. \n\nUntil now, nature documentaries have shown nature in a “timeless state” - as people believe it has always been and always will be. Documentaries that revealed the truth and promoted a sustainable agenda often only reached a small audience, mainly those who already cared. Silverback Studios has pushed the boundaries of how far a climate message can go with the release of “A Life On Our Planet” with David Attenborough and “Breaking Boundaries” with Johan Rockström. Similarly, targeted films can “personalise and directionalise a story”, informing and influencing specific audiences. The success of these projects has brought public understanding, activism and funding for promising future action. \n\nScientists and politicians often dismiss filmmaking and storytelling as unimportant and “fluffy”, but we must not underestimate its power to change societal mindsets. The discussion further delved into the mechanisms of societal change: moving from a place of no motivators and only barriers to action to one where there are only motivators. Society must move from precontemplation (I don’t understand why change is needed) to contemplation (I support/don’t oppose change), to preparation (I want or need to change but don’t understand how to), and finally to action (I am changing). Mass media can help bring about the mass attitude change needed to move from precontemplation to contemplation by creating an “appetite for change in consumers and voters”. Media campaigns targeted at politicians and business leaders can bring about mass intent change, responding to the global demand for change. Finally, tech tools such as Silverback Studio’s new Open Planet free footage library can spark the final mass behaviour change that brings society to action. \n\nThe beauty of the sustainability movement is that “we don’t have to compete, we can cooperate”. By sharing tools and stories, we can unite around the common goal of good for the planet and people. "},"content_fr":{"plain":"","text":""},"openGraph":{"title":null,"description":{"plain":"How do wildlife filmmakers combine biodiversity research with powerful storytelling to produce world-class cinematography? The following is the rapporteur report of an expert discussion convened under the Chatham House rule. The authors are Villars Fellows, currently high school students, researching systems leadership.\n"},"image":{"url2x":null,"thumbnails":{"card":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/c_limit,w_480/v1724769431/villars-institute/banner/focusing-the-power-of-natures-narrative-1_image__Focusing_the_power_of_nature_s_narrative-REFORMATED_xqval3.jpg","url2x":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/c_limit,w_960/v1724769431/villars-institute/banner/focusing-the-power-of-natures-narrative-1_image__Focusing_the_power_of_nature_s_narrative-REFORMATED_xqval3.jpg"},"mainBanner":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/c_limit,w_1440/v1724769431/villars-institute/banner/focusing-the-power-of-natures-narrative-1_image__Focusing_the_power_of_nature_s_narrative-REFORMATED_xqval3.jpg","url2x":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/c_limit,w_2880/v1724769431/villars-institute/banner/focusing-the-power-of-natures-narrative-1_image__Focusing_the_power_of_nature_s_narrative-REFORMATED_xqval3.jpg"}}}},"challenge":null,"color":null,"typeLabel":"New View","intro":{"plain":"How do wildlife filmmakers combine biodiversity research with powerful storytelling to produce world-class cinematography? The following is the rapporteur report of an expert discussion convened under the Chatham House rule. The authors are Villars Fellows, currently high school students, researching systems leadership.\n","text":"How do wildlife filmmakers combine biodiversity research with powerful storytelling to produce world-class cinematography? The following is the rapporteur report of an expert discussion convened under the Chatham House rule. The authors are Villars Fellows, currently high school students, researching systems leadership."},"intro_fr":{"plain":"","text":""},"outro":{"text":"### The Authors \n\nMilly Bevan and Jorin Lowrance are Villars Fellows and assigned as official rapporteurs of the 2024 Villars Institute Summit."},"outro_fr":{"text":""},"videos":[],"imageAssets":[],"organisations":[],"challenges":[],"authors":[{"id":"65d547fed5bcca2bcbc9ea87","name":"Milly Bevan","slug":"milly-bevan","role":{"id":"rol_m02v21Sk7a2hKGj7","name":"Fellow"},"isMember":true,"bio":{"id":"65d547fed5bcca2bcbc9ea87_bio","text":"I am a 19-year-old IB graduate with a particular interest in human sciences (biological and social sciences) and medical anthropology. From the UK but born in the Netherlands before moving to Switzerland, I am also a competitive rhythmic gymnast on a national level and passionate about music and theatre. I am a big believer in the power of people and connection to solve problems. We all have a responsibility to try to solve the big problems faced by humanity, especially climate change and I am excited to start!","html":"<p>I am a 19-year-old IB graduate with a particular interest in human sciences (biological and social sciences) and medical anthropology. From the UK but born in the Netherlands before moving to Switzerland, I am also a competitive rhythmic gymnast on a national level and passionate about music and theatre. I am a big believer in the power of people and connection to solve problems. We all have a responsibility to try to solve the big problems faced by humanity, especially climate change and I am excited to start!</p>\n"},"organisation":{"id":"65d547d5d5bcca2bcbc9e158","name":"Villars Institute"},"linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/milly-bevan-025742269/","photo":{"id":"image_villars-institute/person/milly-bevan_photo__milly-bevan_photo__Screenshot_2022-11-07_at_14.14.51_mjpqzm_siouhj","url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1753193529/villars-institute/person/milly-bevan_photo__milly-bevan_photo__Screenshot_2022-11-07_at_14.14.51_mjpqzm_siouhj.jpg","url2x":null},"positions":[{"id":"65d547e2d5bcca2bcbc9e3f3","primary":null,"positions":[{"id":"65d54818d5bcca2bcbc9f2ce","name":"Student","name_fr":null}],"organisation":{"id":"65d547d5d5bcca2bcbc9e01b","name":"International School of Zug and Luzern"}},{"id":"69317af65fdee034f55cdbbe","primary":true,"positions":[{"id":"693179755fdee034f55cdb42","name":"2022 Villars Fellow","name_fr":null}],"organisation":{"id":"65d547d5d5bcca2bcbc9e158","name":"Villars Institute"}},{"id":"69b2d0a0a828532a0e06d097","primary":null,"positions":[{"id":"65d54818d5bcca2bcbc9f2ce","name":"Student","name_fr":null}],"organisation":{"id":"65d547d5d5bcca2bcbc9e14d","name":"University of Oxford"}}]},{"id":"65d547fdd5bcca2bcbc9e987","name":"Jorin Lowrance","slug":"jorin-lowrance","role":{"id":"rol_m02v21Sk7a2hKGj7","name":"Fellow"},"isMember":true,"bio":{"id":"65d547fdd5bcca2bcbc9e987_bio","text":"As a Villars Fellow of the 2022 Cohort at the Villars Institute, Jorin has a distinguished track record of engagement in global sustainability dialogue served as a rapporteur at the 2024 and 2025 Villars Summits, and at the 2025 GESDA Summit at CERN. His insights have been widely shared through four articles in the Villars Review and a published piece on the GESDA website. Deeply committed to climate action and systems thinking, Jorin also serves as a Youth Representative in Systems Thinking and Sustainability Design Teams at Ecolint and interned with the founder of the regenerative agriculture startup Bison Underground. Furthermore, he is the lead organizer of the FutureTechExpo—a 'Tech for Good' themed event that hosted over 200 participants—and the founder and creator of the Bite Me Podcast, which has explored the policies, innovations, and leaders shaping the climate and sustainability landscape across five episodes since June 2025. Lastly, Jorin is a Glacier Ambassador for the Project Baseline Glacier Intiative.\n","html":"<p>As a Villars Fellow of the 2022 Cohort at the Villars Institute, Jorin has a distinguished track record of engagement in global sustainability dialogue served as a rapporteur at the 2024 and 2025 Villars Summits, and at the 2025 GESDA Summit at CERN. His insights have been widely shared through four articles in the Villars Review and a published piece on the GESDA website. Deeply committed to climate action and systems thinking, Jorin also serves as a Youth Representative in Systems Thinking and Sustainability Design Teams at Ecolint and interned with the founder of the regenerative agriculture startup Bison Underground. Furthermore, he is the lead organizer of the FutureTechExpo—a &#39;Tech for Good&#39; themed event that hosted over 200 participants—and the founder and creator of the Bite Me Podcast, which has explored the policies, innovations, and leaders shaping the climate and sustainability landscape across five episodes since June 2025. Lastly, Jorin is a Glacier Ambassador for the Project Baseline Glacier Intiative.</p>\n"},"organisation":{"id":"65d547d5d5bcca2bcbc9e019","name":"International School of Geneva"},"linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorin-lowrance-555647314/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BwThQB2AvS3GFByfSSejzzg%3D%3D","photo":{"id":"image_villars-institute/person/jorin-lowrance_photo__Scuba_diving_picture_of_me___2022_06_11_17_23_53_lxwpyt","url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1668990708/villars-institute/person/jorin-lowrance_photo__Scuba_diving_picture_of_me___2022_06_11_17_23_53_lxwpyt.jpg","url2x":null},"positions":[{"id":"65d547e2d5bcca2bcbc9e3d0","primary":null,"positions":[{"id":"65d54818d5bcca2bcbc9f2ce","name":"Student","name_fr":null}],"organisation":{"id":"65d547d5d5bcca2bcbc9e019","name":"International School of 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