Today the Auckland Climate Festival Te Huinga Aahuarangi o Taamaki Makaurau is incredibly proud to reveal its initial line-up of events, activations and workshops, set to light up the city and attract tens of thousands of participants through September.

Among the dozens of events already being prepared are:

• Auckland Climate Festival's free opening event, a dawn ceremony at the exquisite Auckland Botanic Gardens, centred around our theme: Ancestor, We. Ngaa hua o Wai, and with the Festival co-host Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua and VIP guests
• A live ' This Climate Business' podcast session, hosted by entrepreneur and publisher Vincent Heeringa. The podcast will feature Green Party co-leader Hon. James Shaw, School Strike 4 Climate organiser and Paekākāriki–Raumati Ward Councillor Sophie Handford, along with other VIP guests
• A Zero Carbon breakfast in the vibrant atmosphere of Takutai Square, featuring Blue Frog granola bowls, Raglan Food Co. coconut yoghurt, All Good bananas and Everybird coffees.

During the month, Aucklanders will also be wowed by a magical Vector Lights show, entertained by musicians, and intrigued by exhibitions and arts around the city. They can also enjoy a silent disco, film screenings, biking events, clean-ups, ethical fashion, artificial intelligence and economy workshops, and so much more! More than 150 events will be on offer, with tens of thousands of people joining together to accelerate climate action; from individuals making more conscious consumer decisions to major entities influencing Government policy.

Michelle Kennedy, founder of Auckland Climate Festival, says: "Coming together for a concentrated period each year provides us an anchor point, where we can align on 'where we are at now', and decide 'where we want to be heading together'. It means that we can drive deep change, where the collective impact we generate is greater than the sum of its parts.

"It’s a space to celebrate the incredible mahi already going on -- to actually see that there is a lot going on in such a wide range of spaces, across industries and communities -- and to feel inspired and encouraged to know there are others committed to change. The Festival is for anyone who wants to work towards a safe, equitable and regenerative future for Taamaki Makaurau. It enables us to scale up change at pace, gain solidarity and harness the synergies that come with collective action.

"It also encourages us to raise our overall ambition of what is possible, to amplify what is already going on, learn from one another and cross-pollinate ideas that can spark transformative change."

Pāora Puru, of iwi co-host Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua, says: "We have an inherited responsibility to be kaitiaki of te taiao, the natural environment of Taamaki Makaurau.

"The Festival allows us to fulfil our kaitiakitanga responsibilities and to share our koorero tuku iho connected to the whenua, wai and taonga of Taamaki Makaurau and the practical integration of this knowledge into the Festival."

Auckland Climate Festival was founded two years ago, in response to the urgent need to accelerate climate action across Aotearoa and the globe. It is a whole-of-society approach to tackling climate change, recognising that we can all make positive changes - whether big or small - and together accelerate action.

The Festival is supported by a range of partners including The Tindall Foundation, Foundation North, ākina, Britomart and Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation.

Join us at Auckland Climate Festival to accelerate climate action for Aotearoa and our planet.

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