Science tells us that the world is in trouble, but we can’t be discouraged. Hope is what we need. And hope is an action. In the face of the climate and nature crisis, where the easy option is hopelessness, “Performing Hope” empowers everyone to take action. This Manifesto by Project Basecamp offers a simple way of fighting climate anxiety and loss of hope, by sharing our individual and collective responses to these existential threats. We can all share hope by #PerformingHope. How?

Performing Hope for the Glaciers 2025

A Global Call to Action Through the Power of Music

In the face of an escalating climate crisis, where rising temperatures and melting glaciers threaten our planet’s delicate balance, hope is often thought of as a fragile concept. But hope is crucial and not as difficult as you might imagine. Hope is simply action. And in 2025, we are performing hope for the world to see.On January 23, 2025, against the breathtaking backdrop of the Swiss Alps, world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined forces with Project Basecamp and Arctic Basecamp for a profound outdoor musical performance on Schatzalp Mountain. This event was more than a concert, it was an inspiring call to action, an urgent reminder that nature itself embodies resilience and renewal.

Why Glaciers? Why Now?

2025 marks the UN International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Glaciers are critical for maintaining our climate system, and yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate. To amplify this crucial message, the UN has also declared March 21 as the annual “World Day for Glaciers.” Learn more about the importance of glaciers and how we can protect them on our Global Climate Risks Platform. Through the universal language of music, Performing Hope for the Glaciers seeks to bridge the psychological and emotional gaps that often lead to climate apathy. This initiative is about shifting global mindsets—from despair to determination, from inertia to action.

Join the Movement

This is just the beginning. Performing Hope is a campaign that invites artists, scientists, policymakers, and the public to come together and redefine how we engage with the climate crisis.

How You Can Take Action

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Watch the full performance and other shorts, experience the power of art in activism

Join the Performing Hope Manifesto

Join us in the global movement to protect our glaciers and our future

The time to act is now. The time to perform hope is now.

Launched on January 18, 2024

“Performing Hope in the Face of the Climate & Nature Crisis” began its journey on January 18, 2024, with a special outdoor event on the Magic Mountain featuring exclusive cello and ballet performances for the glaciers during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos.

Performing Hope launch was presented by Project Basecamp and sponsored by Salesforce and Arctic Basecamp. The event was also supported by M&C Saatchi, Julia Jackson, Julian Oggel, Vanessa Grant, Rainn Wilson, Chuck Tatham, and University of Exeter Business School.

Feel the transformative power of collective hope.

Watch the highlights video below or click here to watch the full cello and ballet pieces.

Why are we Performing Hope?

Science tells us that planet Earth is in trouble — 2023 was the hottest year on record, a trend that continues in all parts of the globe. Extreme weather, threats to food and water, sea level rise, humanitarian crisis — these impacts are already being felt in many parts of the world, and without immediate, intensive climate action these irreversible effects will only increase. Biodiversity is also in massive decline and this adds even more vulnerability into our world.

In the face of this impacts, it is natural to feel overwhelmed, anxious and/or paralysed. Indeed, it can seem comforting to bury one’s head in the sand, or blithely wish that someone else – anyone else — with more power or knowledge or resources will rise to the occasion and save the day.

The irony is, in the absence of hope there is a tendency to freeze up and surrender exactly when the opposite response – action — is imperative.

All cultures embrace hope as a powerful collective energy that gives meaning to and sustains human existence. Yet hope isn’t a state of mind, or something that we simply have or buy or wish into existence. We believe hope in the face of this unspeakable climate and nature crisis can only happen through the performance of action – actions large and small — daily decisions and behaviours that we enact/adopt and promote as individuals, organisations and communities.

By consciously ‘performing hope,’ we can generate the emotional “energy” needed to make the impossible possible.

The World Economic Forum have also published a blog ‘Performing hope’ – how a campaign to spur climate action offers an antidote to apathy‘ co-authored by Project Basecamp Co-Founder Professor Gail Whiteman.

Start Your Practice of Hope!

“Performing Hope” isn’t just a concept, it’s a daily practice that empowers individuals, organizations, and communities to actively contribute to a brighter, more resilient future.

Here’s our Manifesto, a practical guide to help you join the #PerformingHope movement. The goal of this Manifesto is to build emotional resilience and accelerate action in the face of the nature and climate crisis:

To “Perform Hope” is to:

By collectively engaging in performances of hope, we can build the resilience needed to address the challenges of the climate crisis. Start your journey today and share your #PerformingHope story with us!

Acknowledge the scale of the challenge — accept the extensive scientific evidence on the human-induced causes of global warming and the dangerous threats to human and non-human life.

Acknowledge the scale of the threat — accept the scientific conclusion that greenhouse emissions must be cut in half by 2030 and reduced to net zero by 2050. Acknowledge that emissions continue to rise and powerful actors in all sectors are resistant to transformative action — while simultaneously acknowledging that technological and societal breakthroughs offer new, never before seen opportunities. The game is not over.

Accept the uncertainty of our role in the bigger picture. We don’t need to know exactly how or if or when our actions will fix things, we need to focus on committing to our daily performances of hope and trust. Collectively, this behavior will add up to something bigger than us.

Commit to ‘performing hope’ on a daily and weekly basis. We don’t need to know exactly how or if or when our actions will fix things, we need to focus on committing to our daily performances of hope and trust. Collectively, this behavior will add up to something bigger than us.

Ask others to join us by performing their own acts of hope. Trust that collective efforts will create a meaningful, lasting impact. Don’t be shy. Get creative. Explore innovative ways to perform hope in your community and workplace. Organize local or global initiatives that promote positive change.

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