Why take our climate comedy course?
What makes this different?
This lady knows stuff
Belina uniquely combines exquisite facilitation skills, global environmental and social project experience, and a profound understanding of how to help nervous people to shine while being generous, connected, and loving.
Love is our sponsoring energy
When we face and communicate climate issues with fear and anger, we generate more of the same. This course is a unique space to see what happens when we use a loving form of humour to illuminate and engage others in the issues we care about.
This course has a great track record
This course has run over 50 times online and across 11 countries. It was part of National Science Week in Australia twice. Alumni include climate scientists, humanitarian workers, sustainable transport professors, and more.
Success stories
Public course participants include climate scientists, humanitarian workers, sustainable transport professors, and many more. All of them want to make the world better.
Here's what some of them say:
Peter, the NASA climate scientist says...
"I need to reach people about the deadly serious impacts of climate change. But I don't want to drive them away with gloom and doom. Belina and my wonderfully supportive classmates helped me discover the hilarity in my work and connect with the audience about something that really matters, to me and the world."
Pablo, the humanitarian worker says...
"How do we communicate changing climate risks in a way that is both serious and fun? The 'Sustainable Stand Up' course taught me to engender laughter and inspire action through a potent, clever, generous lens: (1) love humanity, and (2) find the system funny. Thank you dearest Belina."
Gillian, the professor of sustainable transport says...
"Turning my hand (or mouth!) to comedy as a new way of communicating the transport and climate change agenda has been extremely rewarding in several different ways. I have been acutely aware for some time that we need to find different ways of engaging people in order to convince them that we are all in this together. I now realise that comedy is a brilliant way of acknowledging common challenges and contradictions in a relatable way that is much more likely to get people to own their own responsibility as compared to the more standard ‘finger pointing’ ways of providing information. Sustainable Stand Up is all about a compassionate approach where the comedian exposes an issue that they are themselves grappling with and teasing out the individual and system-wide components that make things so hard. Although there will always be a time and a place for the comedic approach, the experience has given me fresh hope that we can make faster progress so long as we really get inside the hearts and minds of the people we are trying to influence and there is no better way than to find the issues where people can laugh..."
We deliver compassionate comedy courses for comedy beginners interested in making the world better.
People remember smart loving humour
Wanted:
People who
Not wanted:
Here are some public courses we have coming up.
Warning: This course may include belly laughing, transformative insights, and meeting delightful, like-minded people.
Sustainable Stand Up
Big group, big love
climate comedy
NEW FORMAT
(Online)
29 January to 18 March 2024
In this new format there will be more participants, more group work, and more real world applications. In addition to creating your own climate/social issue comedy set of 5 minutes (with loads of support), you'll also explore how to take some of the topics currently shared with 'doom and gloom' and illuminate them with loving humour instead. We will still have an online show and we are adding a climate comedy wisdom circle at the end...New to comedy? Come along! An alumni of this course who wants to deep-dive with a twist? Come along!
The course
Live, online, this ain't your normal Zoom call...
Class 1 (Finding the beauty beneath): Monday 29 January
Class 2 (Aiming for average): Monday 5 February
Class 3 (Love as a sponsoring energy): Monday 12 February
Class 4 (Structure which clarifies): Monday 19 February
Class 5 (Finalising the content): Monday 26 February
Class 6 (Good online physicality and rehearsing): Monday 4 March
All classes 1810-1940 Central European Time.
The Show (a live, online public comedy show with a lovely, supportive audience):
Group A: Saturday 9 March 1800 Central European Time.
Group B: Sunday 10 March starts at 1800 Central European Time.
Class 7 (Reflections and next steps): Monday 11 March 1810-1940 Central European Time.
Compassionate climate comedy circle Monday 18 March 1810-1940.
Please note: There are between 1 - 2 hours of homework in between each class.
COURSE FEE
Special introductory rate of the new format.
Early bird (ends 31 Oct)
Individual rate: 220 euros plus VAT = 261.80 euros
Company rate: 320 euros plus VAT = 380.80 euros
Course limited to 15 awesome participants.
Will you be one of them? To book your place, click here. If you would like to pay in two installments, email us.
To get on the waiting list for the next course, email us.
Sustainable Stand Up
online & in-person hybrid course
TBA
(In-person part in a city to be announced shortly)
Illuminate important ideas with a loving form of humour
Sustainable Stand Up
online & in-person hybrid course
(In-person part in Melbourne, Australia)
SOLD OUT - COME TO OUR SHOW :)
Australia - we're back!
31 January to 13 March 2024
The course
Live, online, this ain't your normal Zoom call...
Class 1 (Finding the beauty beneath): 31 January, 7.30-9pm Melbourne time.
Class 2 (Aiming for average): 7 February, 7.30-9pm Melbourne time.
Class 3 (Love as a sponsoring energy): 14 February, 7.30-9pm Melbourne time.
Class 4 (Structure which clarifies): 21 February, 7.30-9.30pm Melbourne time.
Individual, online coaching (30 minutes per person). We'll find a time that works for us between 23 - 27 February.
Class 5 (Finalising the content): 28 February, 7.30-9.30pm Melbourne time.
Live, in-person, in Melbourne
Class 6 (Physicality and rehearsing): 6 March,
6.45pm-9:30pm Melbourne time.
The Show (a live, public comedy show with a lovely, supportive audience, in a theatre): 9 March, 5.15pm Melbourne time show start.
(We meet at the venue 60 minutes before the show starts.)
Live, online, this ain't your normal Zoom call...
Class 7 (Reflections and next steps): 13 March, 7.30-8.30pm Melbourne time.
Please note: There is about 2 hours of homework in between each class.
COURSE FEE
Special individual early bird rate, ends 31 August:
Individuals: 280 euros.
Corporate: 399 euros.
(Course fee does not include travel, accommodation, food, etc.)
Note: Please do not book any travel or accommodation until you get a confirmation from us to do so.
Course limited to 7 awesome participants. Will you be one of them? To book your place, click here. If you would like to pay in two installments, email us.
To get on the waiting list for the next course, email us.
Click 'Buy now' to book your place on the course.
A word about VAT:
If you are an individual based in Germany or if you are paying via a German company - you need to add the 19% VAT.
If you are in the EU and are an individual who is VAT registered or are paying through a company that is, then VAT is 0%. If you are in the EU and not VAT registered, the VAT is 19%.
If you are outside of the EU and paying for yourself, the VAT is 19%. If you are paying through a company outside of the EU, VAT is 0%.
What happens when you book your place? You will receive a nice confirmation email from us, with more details about the course, within 12 hours. Usually a lot faster.
If for some reason PayPal isn't working for you, or if you prefer to wire the funds to us instead, please email us here.
By booking, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions here.
We do in-organisation and public workshops exploring ways to learn how to be engaging, smart and funny about stuff that matters.
Here are some public workshops we have coming up.
For in-organisation or public workshop in your city,
contact us (Maffick.com is where this project comes from).
Warning: Learning may include belly laughing, transformative insights, and meeting delightful, like-minded people.
Compassionate Climate Comedy Workshop
Tips for thinking about and communicating this stuff with impact
Online, live, 90-minutes
Date TBA
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
In this interactive, online workshop, we explore three key tools which help us to think about and communicate climate issues with more compassion, clarity, and humour.
We'll explore:
- The rule of 3
- Finding the beauty in your anger
- Using metaphors/domain shifts to illuminate disfunction and possibility
No comedy experience needed. Just a desire to help make the world better.
WHEN AND WHERE
Next workshop will be announced shortly.
The event will be on Zoom. Be prepared to have your cameras and mics on.
WORKSHOP FEE
Regular individual rate £55.
IMPORTANT WORKSHOP INFORMATION
Course limited to 10 participants.
Please read the course terms and conditions.
To get on the waiting list for the next course, email us.
For the Thursday, 9 March Climate Comedy Workshop, click below.
High level course terms and conditions
For the public courses:
If you cancel up to one week before the course starts, you’ll get a total refund. If you cancel after that or during the course, we refund you up to 50% of your fee, proportional to the amount of the course taken before the cancellation. If you are under halfway through the course, or if you are beyond that, we invite you to re-take the course again at the special alumni rate.
For both public and in-organisation courses:
How many classes of a course can you miss? Ideally none. We understand that sometimes things come up that make missing a class unavoidable. If you are going to miss a class, tell your facilitator. You are able to miss up to 2 of the first 4 classes in a course, as long as you keep up with the homework and you work with the facilitator to keep on track. The rest of the classes, and the show, are mandatory.
For courses and workshops:
Sometimes, and very rarely, there is a mismatch between what we are trying to nurture in the course, and a participant involved. If this is the case, it is our call to invite a person to leave and revert to the refund policies above/below.
For in-organisation courses:
If individual participants from an in-organisation course cancel up to two weeks before the course starts, there is no penalty. If a participant cancels after that, they must refund the organisation personally for their course fee.
Topic: Humour in the communication of complex & difficult topics of climate and humanitarian issues
Belina Raffy of Maffick/Sustainable Stand Up, Pablo Suarez of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and Anna Ramskogler-Witt of Aktion Gegen den Hunger and the Berlin Human Rights Film Festival
In this Human Rights Film Festival Berlin podcast, we explore how humour can help us to communicate complex, difficult issues like climate change and humanitarian work.
Smile! It's Climate Change
In this podcast with Life-Sized City presenter Mikael Colville-Andersen, Mikael and Belina discuss how to make climate communication and climate action better through compassionate comedy and improvisation.
Conferences. Got a big cool or boring sustainability-themed conference?
Let us bring relevant material, laughter, and lightness to your event
I do keynotes
Getting people to think differently in an enjoyable way
Humour is so important to our psychological well being, especially when we face difficult and often overwhelming concepts. Sometimes what we need is for someone to speak the truth about how hard the human side to all this is, while being wildly funny.
I do highly engaging conference keynotes.
Email me.
And so do some of our awesome alumni
Subject matter experts from around the world
We can put together a few wonderful, and very funny subject matter experts for your conference.
Tempted?
Email me.
The Russians are coming...
...or, more accurately, we'd like to run a course over there. If you are in Russia, and would like to be notified once we get a course going there, click the below 'Keep me informed' button and let us know a tiny bit about yourself so we can optimise a course there just for you!
Ways to learn how to be engaging, smart and funny about stuff that matters
Warning: Learning may include belly laughing, transformative insights, and meeting delightful, like-minded people
Canberra, Australia
Just opened. Nice comedy about meaningful stuff.
When
Course from May 15 to June 19.
Four live, online classes taught by Belina Raffy
Class 1 May 15, 630pm - 745pm*
Class 2 May 29, 630pm - 745pm*
Class 3 June 5, 630pm - 745pm*
Class 4 June 12, 630pm - 745pm*
* If there are more than 7 people in the class, we'll split the online classes into two cohorts
Online individual coaching by Belina, 30 minutes
Two in-person classes taught by Phil Dooley
Class 5 Thursday June 14th 530pm - 730pm
Class 6 Saturday June 16th 1030am - 1230pm
Show June 19 at Smiths Alternative, with MC Phil Dooley.
Where
Online via Zoom. In-person tbc shortly.
The show will be at Smiths.
Taught by
Belina Raffy (online) and Phil Dooley (in person)
Melbourne, Australia
Combine your passion for making a difference with kind comedy
What
Course from May 28 - June 23
Four live, online classes
Monday evenings Oz time (7-815pm) May 28, June 4, 11, 18
Online individual coaching by Belina, 30-minutes
In-person classes
Thursday June 21 and Friday June 22 from 6-8pm, taught by Tejopala Rawls.
Show
Saturday June 23 from 515-630pm at the Butterfly Club. MC Alanta Colley.
Taught by
Belina Raffy and Tejopala Rawls.
The SusStandUp Team
Let's play!
Let's keep in touch. Connect with us here...
We will send you information tailored to your interests.
Reminder: Sustainable Stand Up is a project of Maffick.com.
We do public and in-company courses Sustainable Stand Up courses
Here is some information and the ability to sign up
If you are looking for individual
presentation coaching, go to our Maffick site. Click here.
Four things
Our project does 4 things...
Courses
We create inspiring courses where you discover a safe environment and new friends. Where you develop and hone stand up material, in a loving, clear way, on stuff that matters.
Shows
We showcase our course participants, as well as the best of today's and tomorrow's stand up comedy on sustainability issues.
Connections
We help connect alumni scientists, sustainability experts, science communicators and others from around the world with each other.
Conferences
We offer our stand up comics to major sustainability events and conferences.
Our online course in
Sustainable Stand Up
Sometimes, we run online courses
Come connect with funny, lovely people from around the world, get some personal coaching, and do something transformative. And all in the comfort of your own laptop...
This online workshop happens once a week for six weeks.
This six-class plus we support you doing a local open mic show. The course is for people who do good in the world and are interested in presenting more engagingly about stuff that matters. We practice a nice, smart, engaging form of stand up comedy, coming from the ‘I’m ok, you’re ok’ space. Learn this all in the comfort of where ever your computer is. You will also be invited to perform your set at a local ‘open mic’ event.
More details about the in-person six-week workshop in London and Berlin
Book your place - this is going to be awesome
Our course...
Whether you plan a career on the stand up stage, want to speak more powerfully on issues that matter to you, or just want to build your confidence and presence, no experience of stand up or improvisation is necessary. Register now below.
The introductory course focus on writing and performing stand up comedy, while using the practice of improvisation to help cultivate:
- playfulness and creativity in crafting your material
- confidence and ease on stage, and
- generosity and connection with your audience.
It emphasises creating content that tackles the big issues in a funny, smart and loving way.
In the workshop sessions you will:
- with our support, develop your own 5 minute set of stand up material
- practice connecting with the audience in delightful, powerful and generous ways
- introduce good mic and presentation techniques
- explore positive ways to deal with failure and the unexpected
- at the end of the course, showcase your set live on stage in a theatre
Why do we get out of bed in the morning?
We help people who do good in the world to do that better.
We help people to combine stand up comedy, playfulness, content about stuff that matters, a focus on positivity and inclusion, and love.
When combined, these are wildly powerful forces to get important information across.
Join us and stand up for things that matter.
Copyright 2015