The Agam Agenda

Storytelling and art are powerful companions in facing the climate crisis. At the first-ever Philippine Book Fair (PBF) in Lipa City, Batangas, the Agam Agenda mobilized creative climate action initiatives that showed audiences how artists, writers, musicians, and storytellers give us hope and inspiration during challenging times.

Collaborating with local artists and climate activists, the Agam Agenda brought poetry, performance, rhythmic music, and visual art/murals to the Lipa book fair. They showcased their latest anthology, Harvest Moon: Poems and Stories from the Edge of the Climate Crisis together with Aurea Annalyn Dagnalan, Michelle Azuelo, and Jayson Gidore of Drum Circle PH, by inviting audiences to participate in the program through a facilitated rhythm event.

Contributors to Harvest Moon spoke about the role of poetry and arts for climate action during the unique book talk. Poet and medical doctor Joey Tabula read two poems (originally written in Filipino and Kankanaey) from the international anthology. Co-editor and Agam Agenda lead strategist Padmapani L. Perez then shared the creative, trans-disciplinary process which brought together diverse voices across Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Latin America in the Harvest Moon book.

Francis dela Cruz, veteran climate organizer and advocacy adviser at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), also spoke about the impacts of climate change and the fight to limit global warming temperatures to less than 1.5°C. Volunteers from the nonprofit organization 350Pilipinas also joined the book fair, displaying lines of poetry that call for urgent action.

The creative climate action initiatives did not stop there, as young, local artists painted a mural at the Lipa book fair venue. This mural joins other public art contributions in support of the When Is Now poetry/arts campaign, alongside other murals painted this year in Iloilo, Isabela, and a forthcoming one in Baguio.