Connected Places

RE.TREAT Cornwall: How to live when sea levels rise?

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A summer camp where families pretend to be climate refugees? An arts-based experiential learning experiment? A delightful and intellectually stimulating weekend in the highlands of Cornwall, full of laughter and joy?

In July 2018, seven families took part in an experimental 4-day ‘retreat’ in Cornwall, UK. The aim of this creative residency was to imagine and design how to live when sea levels rise. SUSPLACE fellow Kelli Rose Pearson and SUSPLACE project coordinator Anke de Vrieze attended RE.TREAT Cornwall as participant observers. The story starts with a full lunar eclipse, a neolithic cairn, and an unexpected storm. It ends with the Boatbarrow – an amphibious mobile art gallery.

Overcoming the fear of the page: the SUSPLACE Children Book’s learning journey continues.

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Written by Angela Moriggi Editing and inspiration: Kelli Rose Pearson, Lorena Axinte, Alessandro Vasta, Anastasia Papangelou, Marta Nieto Romero. How can we convey the value of interdependence without falling into cheesiness? How do we advocate for re-appreciation of traditional textiles without being overly didactic? How can we talk about urban regeneration with a hint of … Read more

Finding inspiration at Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference 2018

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This year marked the return of the annual Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to Wales for the first time in 25 years, hosted by our Geography and Planning department at Cardiff University. It is possibly the largest Geography conference in the UK, attracting more than 1700 researchers and practitioners and at times running more than 30 … Read more

Being a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Ambassador

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  By Catia Rebelo, Alessandro Vasta and Siri Pisters How do citizens’ initiatives shape sustainable places? This question guided a seminar lead by Elisabete Figueiredo and Sandra Valente at University of Aveiro last May. Some ESRs, namely Alessandro Vasta, Cátia Rebelo, Marta Romero and Siri Pisters had the opportunity to share their work with a … Read more

Participatory Video Festival #1: Reflections

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Participatory Video on the lives of homeless people in Belgium, screened at the Participatory Video Festival #1. Photo by Catia Rebelo. Although there is a growing interest in participatory visual methods, these are still far from being  ‘conventional’. This brings some challenges, especially to PhD students. Therefore, a group of PhD students from Ghent University, … Read more

Vacancy for Early Stage Researcher ‘Connected Learning Spaces’

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The SUSPLACE position of Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in ‘Connected Learning Spaces‘ has recently opened up again. We are currently looking for an ESR to be appointed for the remaining 10 months. The position is hosted at Sustainable Places Research Institute of Cardiff University, Wales and open for application till June 16, 2018. Please find the … Read more

Learning the Language of Story

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The Call for Adventure Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far away… Actually in this galaxy. On this planet, in fact. Right over in a picturesque Dutch city called Utrecht… A gang of six intrepid wannabe earth warriors/ sustainability researchers*, gathered to learn how to wield a secret power (well, maybe not … Read more

Help us harness the power of storytelling!

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Do you believe in the power of stories and images to communicate sustainability science? We are asking for help to realise a SUSPLACE children’s book for sustainable place-shaping! Einstein once said: “If you can’t explain something to a 6 year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” In the field of sustainability science, we often face … Read more

Never stop experimenting! Introducing the SUSPLACE Toolkit on Arts-Based Methods for Transformative Engagement

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Written by Angela Moriggi and Kelli R. Pearson “The only way to approach such a period in which uncertainty is high and one cannot predict what the future holds, is not predict, but to experiment and act inventively and exuberantly via diverse adventures in living” ~ C.S. Holling In October 2016, six of us got together … Read more

IPBA 2017 – The 2nd conference of International Place Branding Association

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Established in 2015, the International Place Branding Association brings together scholars and practitioners involved and interested in place branding aiming to bring further advancement for the field both theoretically and professionally. I have been following the association work since last year in 2016 when they co-organized the inaugural conference of Place Branding that took place … Read more

The urgency of not knowing (liberation from certainty)

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By Kelli Pearson * Blog originally written August, 2017 Reflections on my Secondment in Wales What becomes possible when we admit to not-knowing? In my research on “imaginitive leadership,” a golden thread throughout my conversations with artists, creative practitioners, culture shifters, and innovators here in Wales has been their certainty about the urgent need to … Read more