By Olivia Jacobson

I have been including doodles in my notes for a long time now. Though often cast as evidence of distraction, I only doodle when I’m most engaged. Adding visual representation into note-taking practices helps to process and interpret information. Below I’ve included excerpts from the journal I kept throughout our block abroad attending COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Summary of events during our time abroad attending COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
El Fanar Beach (top) and dinner conversation visualized (bottom) – Nov. 17
Notes and visualizations from ‘Unlocking climate finance for nutrition & resilient food systems’ at the Food Systems Pavilion – Nov. 8
Lunchtime doodles from my first day at the COP and an attempt to map the layout of pavilions from memory – Nov. 8
Images, realistic and imagined, from ‘Recipe for sustainable, healthy nutritious food: changing our consumption’ and ‘Diversification through Indigenous, neglected and aquatic foods’ at the Food Systems Pavilion – Nov. 8
Ocean Rights discussion at the Ocean Pavilion – Nov. 9
Meditations on the values shared during ‘Indigenous Peoples’ food systems: regnerative resilient and protectors of the land’ at the Food and Agriculture Pavilion – Nov. 9
Mind-mapping during the side event ‘Putting Food on the Table During a Climate Crisis’ – Nov. 11
Visualizing connections and themes from the various speakers at the ‘Putting Food on the Table During a Climate Crisis’ side event – Nov. 11
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