The Climate Fresk
About us
History of the Climate Fresk
The history of Climate Fresk is that of a collective enthusiasm and mobilization of energy that have raised an incredible bet: to raise awareness of more than 2 million people in just 5 years.
It all started in 2018, with an observation made by Cédric Ringenbach.
On the one hand, there are IPCC scientists who possess complex and essential knowledge.
On the other hand, the general public, in search of clear and accessible information.
Between these two worlds, a gap.
To fill this void, Cédric Ringenbach invented a set of educational cards. This fun and collaborative tool makes it possible to popularize the content of IPCC reports. In just three hours of the workshop, it makes the mechanisms of climate change understandable and invites everyone to understand the issues and consequences.
Author
A game created by Cédric Ringenbach
Cédric Ringenbachis an engineer, lecturer and energy transition consultant for companies and organizations. A specialist in climate change since 2009 and former director of the Shift Project from 2010 to 2016, he teaches energy-climate issues in the major schools (Supaéro, Central Schools, Sciences Po, HEC).
Founder of the game The Climate Fresk In 2015, he created the eponymous association in 2018 to broadcast this workshop, which has continued to be perfected over the years to adapt to current climate realities and challenges.
Cédric Ringenbach
President
« When I created the Climate fresk, I wanted its use to be as open as possible, which is now permitted by its license to use.
The endowment fund complements this mechanism: by hosting intellectual property (trade mark and copyright), it ensures that its use will respect the spirit of the general interest and the founding principles of the project as defined at the beginning of 2019.
Its objective: to entrust as many national structures as possible with the exploitation of the Climate Fresk so that this tool can contribute at the right level to raising awareness of climate issues at the international level. »
Why an Endowment Fund ?
Established in 2023, the Climate Fresk Endowment Fund aims to ensure the sustainability and integrity of a unique educational tool, recognized in more than 160 countries. It addresses three key issues:
Protect
The fund hosts the intellectual property of the Climate Fresk (trade mark and copyright) and ensure its worldwide respect.
A partnership agreement governs relations between the French association of Climate Fresk and the Climate Fresk Foundation.
This contract defines the conditions under which the association is authorised to exploit the trade mark « Climate Fresk » and the associated game.
It guarantees that the Fresk remains faithful to its values and to its spirit of general interest, preserving its integrity in the face of non-conformity.
Structure
It offers astrong legal, financial and organisational framework that is essential for rapid international growth.
By securing trademark deposits, formalizing licensing contracts and supporting the creation of national entities, the fund promotes a coherent and controlled dissemination of Fresk.
Develop
Finally, the fund is a lever for accelerating international deployment and financing high-impact projects.
It supports educational innovation, the creation of new local structures and the establishment of global governance to enhance the collective impact of the Climate Fresk.
It guarantees that the Fresk remains faithful to its values and to its spirit of general interest, preserving its integrity in the face of non-conformity.
With this endowment fund, we make the choice to protect a common good, to give it a clear and sustainable framework, and to provide it with the means to grow in the service of the general interest and the global climate transition.
The founding principles
Climate emergency
Climate change threatens humanity and we must react very quickly. It turns out that the Climate fresk is an effective tool for training and raising awareness among citizens, and that is why its author felt the responsibility to disseminate it as widely as possible and as quickly as possible. He entrusted this mission to the association he created with this aim. This urgency justifies the organisation in swarm mode of the community of frescoers, the right to error and the do-ocracy.
Humanism
If we seek to save the climate, it is so that humans can continue to live on this planet as best as they can. Since it is for humanity that we fight, if we want to be coherent, we must take care of men and women, be attentive to others and not discriminate. In concrete terms, for example, we are vigilant with regard to the burn out of the activist who can watch us all.
Nor are we naive, and we know that preserving a framework within which our members can find their place will sometimes require removing those who threaten our values or the founding principles of our association. We will do so with respect for people, but with firmness.
The importance given to co-optation and peer validation is justified by this imperative.
Guided by science
If we are to venture outside the field of climate change, it will be by respecting recognized scientific bodies such as WHO, UNSCEAR, Academies of Sciences etc.
No taboos, neither with money nor with companies
Money is the sinews of war and our project needs it. The Association offers workshops and paid training and collects fees for using the Climate Fresk tool when used in a commercial setting. Some members of the Association earn part of their lives by proposing to animate frescoes in companies and this is no problem, quite the contrary.
We do not think that the general interest rhymes with gratuity. All work deserves a salary.
That being said, it should be recalled here that the project is primarily a volunteer project and that the financial means are there to ensure the remuneration of a team, which is at the service of this army of volunteers.
Nor do we have a problem working with companies, including those that can be stigmatized and presented as the "great villains" of capitalism. With the Fresk, we address the citizens of these companies with the hope of making things change from the inside, from the base.
The project is not anti-business or anti-capitalist and all the members are free of their opinions.