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About

About Dave Walsh

Dave Walsh
Dave Walsh

Based in Barcelona, I work with global organisations to find the best way to meet their campaign and communications objectives – cutting out as much nonsense as I can along the way. The first step in this journey usually involves identifying what those objectives actually are – and few of us are much good at doing this for ourselves.

I grew up on the edge of the River Slaney, in south east Ireland; a pretty idyllic childhood which granted me a love and respect for the interconnectedness of magic of the natural world. Read more about how my upbringing fuels my work here

My career has seen me campaigning and communicating on important global issues; I’ve covered climate, oceans and forest protection international trade deals and polar scientific research, often from deep in the wilderness. I’ve lead communications for high profile campaigns and on board Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, taken charge of editorial sign-off for Greenpeace International, and coordinated media relations for the world’s first zero emission Antarctic base. I’ve covered issues such as deep sea bottom trawling, pirate fishing, the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Fukushima nuclear crisis, whaling, boreal forest clearcutting, amongst others.

By promoting a sustainable, equitable future for our planet, through changing attitudes and by inspiring others to take positive and peaceful action, I believe we can deal with the cold realities facing us. I currently lead communications and strategy for Our Fish, which works to end overfishing in EU waters; and for the Clean Arctic Alliance campaign to get polluting heavy fuel oils out of  the Arctic. I also provide strategic support to the Global Climate and Health Alliance and the Clean Up Carnival campaign on the impacts to the ocean and human health from cruise ship pollution.

From 2013-2016, I worked on the Antarctic Ocean Alliance campaign to create large scale marine protection in the Southern Ocean. I servd on the board of The Arctic Institute and assisted Greenpeace Africa with its Congo Basins Forests campaign, and along with the Greenpeace campaign to counter the threats to our lives and environment by TTIP, TiSA & CETA trade agreements

I bring a range of skills to the table: international media relations, crisis and expedition communications. I’m a creative director, producer, writer, editor, photographer,and a press officer with who can deliver top tier global media coverage. For more details of my experience and skills, check out my LinkedIn profile.

Cold Reality

Cold Reality is my platform for combatting factoids with facts (and opinions), for point out the frighteningly obvious when everyone else seems blind to it.

Cold Reality was born of out of a tight ball of frustration – annoyed by news stories that pile all the ‘newsworthy’ facts together, but fail to actually address the real issues, or ask the big questions about climate change, fossil fuel use, human rights, refugees and migration, food security, population growth or other issues. Cold Reality is living experiment into whether real solutions can be discovered en route to bursting other peoples’ bubbles.

Along the way, I’ll be writing about the nuts and bolts of campaigning and communications, too.

Photography
In Sept 2012, a solo exhibition of my polar photography, The Cold Edge, took place at the Copper House Gallery in Dublin, and in April 2013, The Arctic: Another World? opened at the Belgian Senate, and in October 2013 at the Bibliotheque de Laeken. I also maintain a separate photography portfolio.

I am always open to discussing new projects – but only if they have potential to make the world a better place.

I look forward to hearing from you, or connecting on LinkedIn, or follow me on Twitter @davewalshphoto and @coldrealitycomm. See also my article archive on Muckrack, which I’m slowly updating.

Also check out other websites I run, or contribute to:

– I’ve been running this crazy website since since 1997!

– cycling and stoicism