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Transformations to sustainability
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Addressing the global challenges highlighted by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will require a transformation of systems that created the problems in the first place. Purposefully transforming our societies is difficult, complex, and messy. Innovative change strategies often fail and there are no general solutions. And even when we have developed promising possibilities, they may falter when we try to scale them upward and outward.

This session features a number of speakers who have been involved in the first phase of the Transformations to Sustainability programme and is organized by the Transformations Community, a global community of action researchers and reflective practitioners, this session focuses on developing transformations support structures, which intertwine action and learning, such as “Transformation Labs”, “Co-Labs”, “Bright Spots”, and “Learning Networks”. These structures operate in the permeable domain between manageable transformations, such as organizational change, and large-scale social-ecological transformations, which can be influenced, but rarely guided. They have a clear process design and expert facilitation and possess a flexible structure that enables them to learn and adapt, supporting sense-making and co-creation. When they operate well, these processes can disrupt old habits and foster new collaborative relationships, reinforcing participants’ shared ties and purpose while providing freedom to experiment. By creating trusting experimentation spaces they enable change agents to engage in radical action and learning and reshape higher-order systemic relationships.

However, the features that provide learning networks with their transformative potential can make them difficult to organize and maintain. They are voluntary and require a high level of commitment and operate in turbulent institutional environments where change opportunities can be fleeting. Despite the need to sustain commitment through multiple learning-action cycles, they are often lightly resourced and reliant on support from fickle sponsors. During our session, we will explore these strengths and limitations by focusing on six linked Transformation (T) Labs developed by the Pathways Network.

Find out more and register.

Learning from the Transformations to Sustainability programme

An open session at the Sustainability Research and Innovation (SRI) congress 2022​​

13h30 – 16h30 SAST/CEST (11h30 – 14h30 UTC), Monday 20 June 2022

This session is open to the public.  

Those who are not registered for the congress can register for a ‘free ticket’ to SRI open sessions here. 

After registration, join the session by clicking the session link here.


Abstract  

This participative session is an occasion for twelve international research projects in their final stages to present and discuss their contributions to knowledge about and for transformations to sustainability, with special attention to understanding the relationship between research, policy and actual social change. The session will also afford an opportunity to look ahead to emerging needs and opportunities for social science research to contribute to transformations to sustainability. Academics, practitioners, funders and policy makers are warmly invited to participate in the discussion. The session will be a key moment in the process of synthesizing learning about how research can contribute to practice and policy, and vice versa. 

The Transformations to Sustainability (T2S) programme supported social scientists to lead inter- and transdisciplinary research on and for sustainability. Between 2018 and 2022, building on an earlier programme that supported three large international projects, the second generation of twelve international projects studied transformation needs and opportunities, as well as barriers and pathways to transformation, in diverse, complex and highly dynamic socio-environmental settings across the Global North and South. Research took place before and during the massive disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in unexpected obstacles and insights in the transformation process. The projects drew on political, social, economic, geographical, institutional, organizational, and ecological perspectives and integrated knowledge from scientists, engineers, practitioners, policy makers, artists, communities, Indigenous peoples and other stakeholders. They identified, studied, and tested novel, hybrid approaches to change-making at local, national and international scales. They contended with the politics of sustainability, issues of equity and justice, and the relationships between power, knowledge and governance in addressing sustainability challenges. 

Agenda 

Facilitator: Susi Moser 

Brief introduction to the T2S programme: Sarah Moore 

Keynote talk by Heila Lotz-Sisitka (15 mins): ‘Research, theory, practice and policy in transformations to sustainability – where are we and where are we going?’  

Panel 1: Contributions to theory and methods of transformations to sustainability research 

Moderator: Eleanor Fisher 

Flash presentations by projects, followed by discussion. 

Break: Preview of short film series on transformations to sustainability 

Panel 2: Contributions to practice and policy in/for transformations to sustainability 

Moderator: Marjo de Theije  

Flash presentations by projects, followed by discussion. 

Open discussion (30 mins): How can research on transformations to sustainability contribute to policy and practice, and vice versa? 

Closing remarks from Emerald Network and Susi Moser

Find out more about the Sustainability, Research and Innovation Congress and register for free sessions.

The next Transformations Conference will be held from 12 to 14 July 2023 online, and in-person in Sydney, Prague, and Portland Maine.

The Conference will be both online and in-person. The theme will be ‘Transformative Partnerships for a better world‘, exploring the role of effective, inclusive and transformative partnerships in practice.

Register for TC23.
To submit proposals.

Find out more here.

14 April, 13:00 UTC | 15:00 CEST

The ISC presents its fifth webinar in a six-part series on COVID and the Social Sciences, Understanding and Addressing the Pandemic: Insights from Anthropology.

The series explores the impact of the social sciences on the pandemic and the impact of the pandemic on the social sciences.

This webinar will address the following two questions:

  • How has Anthropology provided useful insights into thinking about the pandemic and in formulating responses to the pandemic?
  • How has the pandemic impacted on developments within Anthropology and on the changing relationship of Anthropology to other disciplines?

Find out more about the webinar and register

The series has already covered Economics, Psychology, Sociology and Political Science. The final episode in the series will cover Statistics.

The 2022 Pollen conference will be a fully virtual, interactive event taking place over 4-days from 28 June – 1 July 2022.

More details can be found online here.

Join the Analysis, Integration and Modeling of the Earth System (AIMES) project, the Earth Commission, Future Earth and the World Climate Research Programme for the Amazon focused webinar in a series that aims to advance the knowledge about tipping elements, irreversibility, and abrupt changes in the Earth system. The event includes two presentations on socioeconomic tipping for achieving positive change. We will look into social and financial systems.

Presentations

  • Social tipping dynamics – Ilona Otta
  • What are the sensitive intervention points needed to make the green energy transition happen as quickly as possible? – Doyne Farmer
  • Q&A/ Discussion

Moderated by Jonathan Donges (Potsdam Ijstitute for Climate Impact Research) and Tim Lenton (University of Exeter).

Find out more and register online.

7 April 2022, 16:30 – 18:00 CEST

This event in the discussion series on tipping elements, irreversibility, and abrupt changes in the Earth system focuses on Human and Earth systems interlinkages.

Whilst previous events have focused on the Earth system alone, this webinar will explore the interlinkages between tipping elements in Earth and human systems. Speakers will present historic and contemporary examples of how Earth system tipping elements affect societies and the people within them.

The two talks of the event are:

  • The dust bowl: Enduring socio-economic impacts of an environmental catastrophe – Richard Hornbeck, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
  • Earth system change and tipping: The case of small island developing states – Michelle Mycoo, University of the West Indies

The session will be moderated by Gabi Hegerl and Caroline Zimm. It will be recorded and posted on the event site a day or two after the event.

Register here.

For all events in this series (and their recordings), please see the main event site.

Workshop date: 06 April 2022, 13:00-14.30pm (CEST) via Webex

Open access (OA) policies and principles in research funding have been intensively discussed and implemented in recent years. Many international funding bodies have adopted OA principles to increase the unrestricted access of scholarly outputs and research data of their sponsored research.

But what do we know about the sustainability impact of different forms of using and sharing intellectual property rights? Many research projects also generate patents, trade secrets, and copyright. How can research institutes and businesses use and share patents, trademarks, copyrights or design rights in a better way to support transitions to sustainability? Which kind of guidance can research funding organizations provide to support the development and diffusion of sustainable products and technologies?

You are invited to a targeted 90- minute workshop based on the insights of the interdisciplinary research project IPACST.

The organizers want to discuss how research funding organisations can support innovation actors to improve the awareness and use of IP portfolios to fulfil sustainability goals. Together with you, we want to discuss which general principles research funding organisations can adopt in supporting IPR for sustainability. How can we develop and implement IPR principles for sustainability in research funding?

This event is open to all interested actors in international research funding organizations. Please register via e-mail.

You will receive a confirmation with the necessary information to the Webex meeting room. Be prepared for interactive discussions in breakout groups and turn your camera on if your internet connection allows it. Are you interested in attending the event but having a conflicting schedule or difficulties due to different time zones? Please let us know via e-mail to plan a second workshop date.

21 Feb – 4 April 

Is there a gap between labour and nature, or are workers and their communities engaging with nature to work towards environmental justice and a just transition? Drawing on examples from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe to respond to this crucial question, speakers analyse the challenges working people face when struggling for eco-social justice within a neoliberal, extractivist political economy. They shed light on conflicts between miners and communities affected by mining concerned about environmental conservation; they discuss how workers mobilize to protest against environmental crises, but also to fight regressive climate policies that put the burden of change on lower-income groups. Bringing together a wealth of experience presented in the Palgrave Handbook of Environmental Labour Studies, the series highlights how the developing field of environmental labour studies can help fuse eco-social research and practice.

Register now to join the webinars and claim a discount on the Handbook.

Moving beyond extractive industries: Resistance and alternatives (completed)

📅 21 February
16.00 CET
Hosted by Global Labour University

This webinar looks at the disastrous impact of extractive industries on working-class communities, both in terms of the environmental crisis but also energy poverty. The main focus of the webinar is on ongoing struggles which are building spaces of resistance and envisioning alternatives beyond extractive industries.

Speakers

  • Energy Poverty and the Environmental Crisis: The Impact on Working Class Communities
    Mametlwe Sebei (General Industries Workers Union of South Africa)
  • Building Spaces of Resistance Against Extractive Industries: What are the Main Challenges?
    Erik Kojola (Texas Christian University)
  • Beyond Extractive Industries: Learning from Environmental Justice Struggles
    Jacklyn Cock (University of the Witwatersrand)

Moderator: Edlira Xhafa (Global Labour University)

Challenges and perspectives of a just transition in Europe (completed)

📅 7 March
15.30 CET
Hosted by European Trade Union Institute

What are the main challenges of a just transition to a zero-carbon economy in the EU? Taking a broad-based theoretical approach, speakers at this webinar present the current EU context for a just transition, paying particular attention to the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package.

  • To what extent can current EU policies and practices be considered a step towards a more comprehensive policy framework to integrate climate/environmental and labour priorities?
  • How far are institutions and the welfare state ready to address the new challenges posed by the eco-social paradigm shift, possibly under a low growth or de-growth scenario?
  • What strategies do trade unions have and what main challenges do they face?

Speakers

  • From “Just Transition” to an “Eco-Social State”?
    Bela Galgoczi (ETUI)
  • Workers, Trade Unions, and the Imperial Mode of Living: Labour Environmentalism from the Perspective of Hegemony Theory
    Markus Wissen (Berlin School of Economics and Law – HWR)
  • Multilevel Engagement of Trade Unions with Climate Change Mitigation
    Adrien Thomas (LISER, Luxembourg) and Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven)

Discussant: Samantha Smith, Director of the Just Transition Centre of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Moderator: Nora Räthzel (University of Umeå, Sweden)


Working-class environmentalism and just transition struggles in the Americas (completed)

📅 22 March
16.00 CET
Hosted by United Nations Research Institute for Social Development

This session zooms in on questions of alliance building and seeking common ground in three case studies on working-class environmentalism. The case of Ecuador shows that workers’ struggles are not limited to areas typically examined by labour studies, but include struggles of Indigenous peoples and agricultural workers. Our Brazil case study analyses agrarian protest and resistance against environmental degradation, examining the role of faith and religious institutions in enabling resistance through teaching and connecting individuals to social movements. Finally, the example of Canada showcases the challenges of coalition building among different stakeholder groups by comparing a worker-focused approach with a more inclusive campaign for just transition. The session will illustrate the diverse challenges of working-class environmentalism and explore strengths and challenges of environmental labour mobilizations for a just transition.

Speakers

  • Connecting Individual Trajectories and Resistance Movements in Brazil
    Beatriz Leandro (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), co-authored with Patricia Viera Trópia and Nora Räthzel
  • A Just Transition for All? A Debate on the Limits and Potentials of a Just Transition in Canada
    Bruno Dobrusin (International Transport Workers’ Federation)
  • The Role of Ecuadorian Working-Class Environmentalism in Promoting Environmental Justice: An Overview of the Hydrocarbon and Agricultural Sectors
    Sara Latorre (Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Ecuador)

Discussant: Edouard Morena (University of London Institute in Paris)
Moderator: Dunja Krause (UNRISD)

Register


Environment, labour and justice: Perspectives from the global South (completed)

📅 4 April
18.30 CEST
Hosted by University of São Paulo

This webinar draws on perspectives from the global South to examine emerging ideas in the field of environmental labour studies. Researchers will share insights from South Asia, Latin America, and Africa dealing with subjects of labour resistance against fossil fuel reforms, labour-environmental conflicts, and trade union politics regarding just transition policies. Bringing together this diverse array of experiences, the webinar offers a rich assessment of the potential and difficulties involved in bridging labour and environmental struggles in different regions of the world.

Speakers

  • Fighting in the Name of Workers: Exploring the Dynamics of Labour-Environmental Conflicts in Kerala
    Silpa Satheesh (Azim Premji University, India)
  • Labour Resistance Against Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reform: Neoliberal Discourses and African Realities
    Camilla Houeland (University of Oslo/ Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research, Norway)
  • Trade Union Politics for a Just Transition: Towards Consensus or Contestation?
    Diego Azzi (Federal University of ABC, Brazil)

Moderator: Scott Martin (Columbia University, United States)


The series is co-organized by the Center for Environmental Justice at Colorado State University, the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), the Global Labour University (GLU), the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), and the University of São Paulo. The ETUI is financially supported by the EU.

Photo: Orlando Towers, Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa (South African Tourism via Flickr).

Uppsala Art Museum will host a ‘pop-up’ exhibition of photographs and a panel discussion for the Gold Matter’s project at the Nordic Africa Institute – All Welcome! Admission is free and drinks will be served.

The display by photographer Nii Obodai will place a spotlight on Ghanaian small-scale gold miners. The panel discussion will reflect on using photography within socially engaged research exposing and challenging injustices associated with oil and mineral resource extraction in Africa.

March 15, 16.00 – 17.30, Uppsala art museum (castle), Christinas väg 1E

Find out more: Panel discussion and pop-up exhibition: Gold Matters [information in English and Swedish]

Pre-book: Panelsamtal och pop-up-utställning: Gold matters – Tickster

Alternatively, email: eleanor.fisher@nai.uu.se

Programme

15.00-16.00: Arrive early and have the possibility to see the exhibition Promzona (industrial zone) by Pavel Otdelnov, Floor 4. Free entrance for participants.

16.00-16.30: Mingle and beverage in connection to the pop-up-exhibition Gold Matters, the auditorium.

16.30-17.30: Panel talk: Nii Obodai and Michael Watts in conversation with Eleanor Fisher and Cristiano Lanzano moderated by Patience Mususa, the auditorium.

The speakers and moderator

Nii Obodai works primarily with black and white photography, including the series “Big Dreams, Life Built on Gold” of mining lives and landscapes in Ghana. Nii is director of Nuku, Ghana’s first photography festival.

Michael Watts is Fellow of the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, and Chancellor’s Professor of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Michael has worked extensively with renowned photographer Ed Kashi, including “The Curse of the Black Gold” a graphic look at the profound cost of oil exploitation in West Africa.

Eleanor Fisher is Head of Research, Nordic Africa Institute, and leads the project “Gold Matters” which explores transformations in artisanal and small-scale gold mining between Africa and the Amazon, including through photography and visual methods.

Cristiano Lanzano is Senior Researcher, Nordic Africa Institute, who has worked extensively on mining in West Africa, and is a principal researcher on the Gold Matter’s project.

Patience Mususa is Senior Researcher, Nordic Africa Institute, and author of the book “There used to be order: Life on the Zambian Copperbelt after the privatization of the Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines” (University of Michigan Press 2021).

Find out more about GOLD MATTERS.

 

 

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  • T2S Coordination Office

    Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
    Email: T2S@nwo.nl
    Postal address: PO Box 93461
    NL-2509 AL The Hague
    The Netherlands

  • Visiting address

    Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië 300
    NL-2593 CE  The Hague
    The Netherlands

  • Grant Agreement

    This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730211.
  • Links

    • www.belmontforum.org
    • www.norface.net