Anjunabeats Collaborates with MIT for Climate Change Study at The Gorge

Environmentalism, climate change, Anjunabeats, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: a partnership and public presentation on what we all can do regarding sustainability.

In the early afternoon on Wednesday, September 21^st, the British record label Anjunabeats – incepted by Jonathan “Jono” Grant and Paavo Siljamäki from the EDM duo Above & Beyond – partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of technology to deliver a thought-provoking live presentation on their budding partnership and empirical data, collected via their former event/scientific experiment. The presentation also focused on climate change, conscientious sustainability, and actionable, day-to-day redirections for the individual’s implementation.

“Relive some of the magic from the recent Group Therapy Weekender festival in Washington State… as they present brand new climate action research from the Gorge. Initial findings suggest that our community is action-oriented. How do we lower the threshold to climate action?”

Empowerment in Climate Action: Lessons from the Weekender

Prior to yesterday’s webcast, Anjunabeats partnered with MIT Ph.D. student Norhan Magdy Bahomi, otherwise known as Nourey. The university student conducted a social experiment at the label’s “Gorge Weekender,” a summer concert at Washington’s most iconic venue. The event took place over a time span of 16 hours, touted nearly 400 responses to a climate identity survey, and boasted the interaction of more than 500 people with an augmented reality experience pertaining to climate change.

When commenting on the event, the MIT organizers shed light on the purpose of their thesis. “Fusing AR technology with collaborative arts – we believe this could be a stepping stone in a broad space where audiences can better engage in climate change issues during live events.”

In a public statement, Anna Johnson, the label’s Sustainability and Environment Officer, discussed her excitement regarding the event. “Partnering with MIT’S Environmental Solutions Initiative enables Anjunabeats to apply scientific rigor in our sustainability efforts,” proclaimed Anna.

“Music events provide an opportunity for testing new ideas and experimentation around pressing global challenges. We hope the Gorge project contributes to a growing body of research with the objective to scale-up sustainable behavior change,” shared Anna.

When commenting on the growing partnership between the university and record label, the head of MIT’s ESI program, professor John E. Fernandez, had thought-provoking insight to share. “Working with Anjunabeats at the Gorge was a unique experience in projecting into the future – a more climate aware, sustainable and equitable future. Bringing science into the heart of a music experience is not only a powerful way in which to engage people on the challenges of climate change but also inspires the potential for transformation. Anjunabeats has been a leader on these issues and MIT has deep expertise and engagement activities on climate change and many other environmental challenges. Working together at the Gorge proved that there is much we can do to enhance learning and prompt real action for a better planet.”

To listen to classic Anjunabeats mulling over this food for thought, venture below.