‘Grain of Sand’ Film Festival Showcased Montgomery County Climate Stories Ambassadors' Personal and Community Stories at the AFI Theatre and Cultural Center

For Immediate Release: Friday, February 24, 2023

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Latino Health Initiative (LHI) on Feb. 23 hosted the “Climate Stories Film Festival: Our Grain of Sand” at the AFI Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring. The event, presented in English and Spanish, highlighted the Climate Stories Ambassadors Initiative in which County Climate Stories Ambassadors developed, recorded and shared stories of climate change.

Ambassadors were trained by Climate Stories Project, an international educational and artistic forum that facilitates the sharing of personal stories about the changing climate to build an inclusive and effective movement to confront the climate crisis.

Locally, the initiative has resulted in the collection of more than 100 stories that capture residents’ voices, their emotional responses to the changing climate and their commitment to building a more positive future. Participating Montgomery County Climate Stories Ambassadors included Ramata Diop, Elva Jaldin, Jordyn Muse and Elsa Vargas.

The County hopes to build on the ambassadors’ leadership and momentum to drive broad-based climate action and tap into residents’ experiences and concerns to co-create climate solutions.

The Climate Stories Film Festival incorporated panel discussions with the ambassadors and climate partners, remarks by County Executive Marc Elrich and included screenings of the films Climate Change Impacts, What Can You Do? and Be the Change.

“I am proud of Montgomery County’s Climate Stories Ambassadors who bravely speak up and share their personal stories of the impacts of climate change,” said County Executive Elrich.  “Our ambassadors join an international stage and are committed to raising awareness of this critical issue and sharing the message that, as a community, we can build resilience together.”

Adriana Hochberg, Montgomery County’s climate change officer and acting director for DEP, said the film festival showed how the climate change crisis impacts individuals and communities.

“Climate change impacts all of us, and the Climate Ambassadors Stories program enables members of our community to share how climate change is affecting them personally,” said Ms. Hochberg. “We are hopeful that the ‘Our Grain of Sand’ film festival will inspire honest dialogue on the impacts of climate change and help promote community-based solutions.”

LHI Program Manager David Del Pozo said the films captured the impressions of a wide range of County residents.

“The climate stories captured by this project are representative of diverse voices and perspectives from across the County and demonstrate a wide-ranging coalition of concerned community members ready to work together to take climate action,” said Mr. Del Pozo.  “We must work to meaningfully engage all people and community groups to achieve sustainable results in confronting the climate crisis.”

For more information on the Climate Stories Ambassadors project website visit: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/climate/climate-stories-ambassadors.html.

To learn more about the County’s climate work visit Montgomery County’s Climate Action Portal:  https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/climate.

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Release ID: 23-087
Media Contact: Cindy Peña 202-875-1563
Categories: Environment