Our trusty friend the air conditioning unit can’t be the only solution to combating climate change. The stark truth is that climate change is happening now, and it’s making the world hot and hungry.

Yes friends climate change has a direct effect on…Food glorious food. But we need decent weather to grow the stuff – and that’s been in short supply as freak weather linked to climate change destroys crops and turns planting and harvesting seasons into a guessing game.

Our new brief is your chance to design fresh ideas on what you think will change public opinion on climate change. We are calling on rebels, trouble makers and change makers to get on board with the new brief.

Take the latest Design for Change brief and support Oxfam Australia’s work climate change and food. We have a load of prizes lined up for the winning design, one lucky winner will take home a sweet booty of prizes valued at over $1000, this includes a voucher to be used at Workshop, subscriptions to Dumbo Feather and Frankie, and a new tee from Bloodless’ forthcoming collection! Aye carumba, this is huge!

We are also pleased to announce a very special selection panel this year. Your designs have the chance to be viewed by judges from Semi- Permanent, Dumbo Feather and Bloodless Fashion.

So here’s the deal on climate change and food.

Same Ol’ Story. We’ve been told time and time again that the world is heating up and that melting ice caps and displaced polar bears are being effected by climate change. True, but it is also humans who are impacted by climate change. Sometimes we think that with a flick of a switch we can ignore how climate change has ramifications on the way we live. In Australia, we have experienced the hottest year on record. 2013 was a scorcher, and if our weather vanes are correct,  our air conditioning units are going to be working overtime if climate change continues to wreak havoc.

Hot and Hungry. For our neighbours in the global south climate change is a very different story. The stark truth is that climate change impacts people’s accessibility to food. The impact of climate change on nearly a billion people in the global South has accelerated, placing at risk the global food system and people’s ability to grow and buy enough food to eat. The stark truth is that climate change means: shorter and more unpredictable growing periods, and devastating shocks to food production and food prices from extreme weather. These effects of climate change put poor famers into greater risk of hunger. Fast forward a few years and supermarkets could look a lot different and our food bills higher as the world grows hotter – and hungrier.

Let’s write a new story about climate change. We’ll put it bluntly for you. More needs to be done on climate change. Small personal changes like bike riding, energy saving light bulbs and veggie patches are important ways of mitigating climate change. But more action can be taken by Governments and big businesses in cutting emissions and protecting poor farmers. Oxfam Australia wants to get more Australians involved in our work on climate change and food justice. We’re asking you to pitch to us fresh and innovative design concepts that will raise more public awareness and action on the impact of climate change on the global food system.

How can you get involved?

Step 1: go straight to designforchange.org.au. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. 

Check out the video and get clued into the latest conversation about climate change and food justice. Get your crew of rebels, trouble makers and change makers  involved in the climate change conversation.

We are looking for creative approaches to engaging a wider public– think a social media campaign, poster, a poem, a song, or even a stunt could do the trick? Individual and group entries are welcome and it’s free to enter.

 Submit your ideas online. Your ideas have the chance to win a load of prizes and support Oxfam Australia’s upcoming campaigns on climate change and food. ENTRIES CLOSE MIDNIGHT JUNE 30 2014

 This year we are pleased to announce very special Design For Change Jury. The designs will be judged by our guest selection panel including Dumbo feather, and Bloodless.

 Share this challenge with your mates, tag your posts as #designforchange, @designforchange_. For all the tweeters out there tweet at us @d4cOxfam.. Find out more on our FAQ section or send us an email.