The 2051 Munich Climate Conference

In September 2021 a very special academic conference took place: T2051MCC - The 2051 Munich Climate Conference. Researchers from across the academic spectrum assembled to discuss climate change. What made it special was that everyone held their lecture as if it took place in an imagined year 2051. The theatre collective Büro Grandezza had released an open call for contributions to a conference in Munich. Almost 50 researchers wrote papers on climate narratives, geoengineering, coastal adaptation and other topics. This particular framework allowed them to break out of the constraints of the current discourse without neglecting methodology or thematic sharpness.

Benno Heisel (Dipl./M.A.), born in 1986, works as a theatre maker in the fields of music, text, dramaturgy, performance, directing and infrastructure. Andreas Kohn (M.A.), born in 1980, is an independent theatre maker and author. He is also working as a climate policies and carbon pricing consultant. Theresa Spielmann (B.A.), born in 1998, is a research MA student in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Warwick. Christina Wehrl (Mag.), born in 1992, has been a project manager at August Dreesbach Publishing House in Munich since 2018.