by Alyssa Ford

Giddy up folks, the SUSTAIN team is headed to Austin, Texas to attend South by Southwest 2022!

SXSW was founded by a small group of people in Austin in 1987. It all began the previous year with a series of long, private discussions about the future of entertainment and media, where participants in the conversations were sworn to secrecy. The group shared one common belief: that the local music and creative communities were just as talented as anywhere else in the world, but were extremely limited by a lack of exposure outside of Austin. Thus, SXSW was born to give local creative professionals a platform.

The festival has become a well known celebration of the convergence of tech, film, music, education and culture and has evolved to highlight artists from around the world. This year it runs from Friday, March 11th to Sunday, March 20th and features an array of conferences, panels, interactive exhibitions, film screenings, musical performances and more. For people who aren’t able to attend in person, the festival offers an online portion with livestreams and access to exclusive content. SXSW is the go-to destination for global professionals looking to learn, grow their network and have a great time!

SUSTAIN is particularly excited for the Climate Change Track, which explores topics like renewable energy and fossil fuel alternatives, sustainable practices, coastal relocation, plant-based foods, and forward-focused green startups. The climate crisis needs action now and the urgency cannot be overstated. This programming covers the many consequences of soaring temperatures, rising oceans and mass extinctions across the globe. With each passing day, it becomes increasingly important for large scale platforms like SXSW to amplify climate change discussions and action. 

The 2022 SXSW themes are: Discovering the Undiscovered, Built for the Future, We’re All Connected, The Evolving Media Landscape and The Power of Inclusivity. It’s crucial that these mainstream conferences create space for BIPOC speakers and organizations who are the original leaders of the environmental justice movement. This is something SUSTAIN is hoping to see more of this year. 

At its core, SXSW is a powerful tool that helps creative people expand their careers. By bringing together a global community of innovative visionaries, attendees with similar goals and interests are able to meet, learn and share ideas. 

We’ll be covering various presentations and events, so follow us along on insta and Tiktok to get an inside look!  You can also view a full list of the climate change sessions and the entire festival schedule on the SXSW website.