SINT MAARTEN (POND ISLAND) - The University of St. Martin (USM) welcomed a visiting delegation from the University of Pennsylvania to its campus this week as part of a creative research project focused on climate justice, social justice and the experiences of the people of St. Martin.
The seven-member delegation is on St. Martin from August 16–23, 2026, under the guidance of Professor Simon Richter, Professor Joshua Mosley and Emilie Flamme. During their time on the island, the team will engage with local residents, artists and stakeholders as they work toward producing animated videos developed with and for the people of St. Martin. The visit builds on earlier collaboration with Professor Richter, who visited St. Martin in June for exploratory research and discussions surrounding the project.
Richter and Mosley co-direct animation research at the University of Pennsylvania and have used animation and visual storytelling to make complex issues surrounding climate change and adaptation more accessible to policymakers and the wider public.
Their ongoing Poldergeist project combines animation with climate research and has increasingly expanded its attention to the Dutch Caribbean. During the St. Martin visit, the team plans to develop a Poldergeist video aimed particularly at Dutch and French policymakers, bringing attention to climate-related realities and concerns from the perspective of the island.
Additional creative work will draw directly from St. Martin's culture and sense of place. One of the proposed videos, “Poems of Place,” will incorporate Caleb Dros' Oaulichi: Land of Oma as inspiration for animated scenes. Another area of focus will explore connecting young people to place, creating opportunities for local perspectives, experiences and ideas to influence how St. Martin's story is visually represented.
For USM, the project connects closely with the University's role as a space where research, education and community conversations can meet. The visiting artists spent time on the USM campus on Monday morning, providing another opportunity for exchange and connection while on the island. More importantly, the project raises a larger question about how stories of climate change and climate justice in small island communities are told and who gets to tell them.
St. Martin, like other Caribbean islands, faces climate challenges that are shaped not only by the physical environment but also by questions of development, culture, history, governance, access to resources and the relationship between islands and larger countries within the Kingdom and region.
The Poldergeist approach seeks to translate complex climate issues into visual stories that can reach audiences beyond traditional academic research. Previous work by the Penn team has focused on Bonaire and the relationship between climate adaptation, island realities and Dutch policymaking.
The St. Martin project therefore provides an opportunity for local knowledge and lived experiences to become part of the conversation, rather than having the island's climate story developed solely from an outside perspective.
USM welcomes the University of Pennsylvania delegation to St. Martin and looks forward to seeing how the conversations, experiences and connections made during the week will be transformed through animation and storytelling. The delegation will remain on the island through August 23, continuing its research, community engagement and creative development.
For USM, collaborations such as these also reinforce the importance of the University as a meeting place for local and international researchers, artists, students and community stakeholders to engage with issues that directly affect St. Martin and its future.
