For the first time in its history, the global Conference on Communication and Environment (COCE) is being held in the Southern Hemisphere, and it's sold out.
From 23 to 27 June, Hobart will be the meeting ground for over 300 scholars, creatives, and changemakers from more than 35 countries, as the international environmental communication community gathers for COCE 2025.
This milestone event, hosted by the University of Tasmania's School of Creative Arts and Media, places Australia at the heart of vital global conversations about climate, communication and collective futures.
With the theme, Environment and Communication: Shifting Perspectives, Creativity, and Conviviality from the Edge, the conference invites participants to explore bold new ways of engaging with planetary challenges, not just through policy and data, but through stories, ethics, listening, and connection.
Environmental communication is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field, spanning journalism, science communication, advocacy, creative practice and more. At its core is a belief that how we talk about the environment shapes how we act.
"COCE is not just a conference, it's a space for rethinking how we connect with each other and with the planet," Professor Alana Mann, Head of Discipline, Media said.
"In a time of overlapping ecological and social challenges, we need communication that builds trust, encourages creativity and opens the door to action."
The conference program is now live, featuring sessions on topics ranging from ecological grief and Indigenous land care narratives to AI and misinformation, humour in activism, and youth climate leadership. These conversations cross disciplines and geographies, creating space for insight, innovation and action.
COCE 2025 also invites the wider public into its conversation through two major events. Writers on Ice brings together acclaimed Antarctic writers and artists to reflect on the emotional and ethical dimensions of climate through performance and conversation.
A public screening of The Giants, a documentary on the life and legacy of Bob Brown OAM, will be followed by a live Q&A with Dr Brown himself, offering audiences a rare chance to engage with one of Australia's most influential environmental voices.
"By opening our doors to the public, we're inviting the broader community into these essential conversations," Professor Mann said.
"Art, story, and shared experience have the power to bridge divides and spark change, and that's exactly what these events are about."
- Writers on Ice takes place on Friday 27 June, 12.30 – 1.30pm, Ian Potter Recital Hall, The Hedberg (entrance at 19 Collins Street), free. Bookings: www.theatreroyal.com.au/shows/writers-ice .
- A special screening of The Giants, followed by a conversation with Bob Brown takes place on Wednesday 25 June, 7.00pm, Theatre Royal, $15/$10. Bookings: www.theatreroyal.com.au/shows/special-screening-giants .
