Highlighting climate change at Mela
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The London Mela is the largest Asian festival of its kind in the UK. Attended by around 70,000 people, this year’s event took place on Sunday 12 August. Concern Worldwide were in the Heritage / Classical tent with an exhibition about the impact of climate change on people living in the Haor region in northeast Bangladesh.
Things started ominously enough on Friday when the ladder Ash Akhtar was using to hang parts of the exhibition slid from its position, toppling him from eight feet up, face first onto the floor. Festival staff suggested he take a trip to Ealing hospital accident and emergency just to make sure that nothing serious had happened. Three hours later, he emerged from hospital bearing stitches and an increasingly nervous disposition to ladders.
Opening at midday on Sunday, the Mela (and the tent) started to hot up. Acts in the Classical tent included the London Sitar Ensemble and the legendary Baluji Shrivastav. The sun stayed out all day, which was great for the two Natalies from Direct Dialogue (Concern’s street fundraisers) who were outside, but not so good for the rest of us inside the canvas tent. The Mela attracts a diverse audience so it was important for Concern to have a little something for everyone. In addition to the exhibition, Concern was also promoting the Unheard Voices campaign (focusing on the plight of poor farmers in Africa) and the MyAsiaSpace photo competition.
All three were very well received and generated some valuable feedback. A lot of people were moved by the exhibition and pleased that it was bringing the issue of climate change to the Mela. There were around 300 new sign-ups to Concern and hundreds of Tsunamika dolls were given away in exchange for donations to Concern’s flood appeal.
Baluji Shrivastav brought the day to the glorious close it deserved with his extraordinary musicianship. After the applause and crowds faded away, the exhibition came down and the remaining Concern employees decided that they could just about handle one more samosa before heading home.
