Seminar: Connor Cavanagh on responses to violent eviction
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomDifferentiated dispossession: ‘Hunter-gatherer’ responses to violent eviction from Embobut Forest Reserve, western Kenya Seminar by Connor Joseph Cavanagh Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, UK Critical scholarship on global land and ‘green’ grabbing has begun to examine the politics of variegation in diverse ‘responses from below’, or the ways in which various...
Rapid Energy Transition
A conference on energy transitions at the Centre for Alternative Technology on 29 April 2016. Part of the 'Rapid Transitions' event series.
Nexuses of the Urban (Nexus Network workshop)
Sussex University campus Falmer, United KingdomNexuses of the Urban: Interactions between water, energy and food provision for sustainable cities University of Sussex, Brighton, UK This workshop is the latest in a series of events organised by the Nexus Network. It is fully booked, but you can follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #UrbanNexus. Background Cities are dynamically connected...
Bon appétit? A citizens’ jury on the future of food – in or out of Europe?
The Duke of Cambridge, 30 Saint Peter's Street London N1 8JT Register to attend this event on Eventbrite Speakers include Erik Millstone (STEPS Centre/SPRU, University of Sussex) Joan Walley (former Labour MP) Prof Tim Lang (City University) Guy Watson (founder of Riverford Organic) Whether it’s the straight banana Euromyth, the high price of healthy food...
Can we govern the climate?
Fulton A Lecture Theatre, University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomPublic lecture by Prof Harriet Bulkeley, Professor of Geography at Durham University, on 16 May 2016 at the University of Sussex.
Future of food: burgers…or bugs?
SILO Restaurant, 39 Upper Gardner Street Brighton, UK How and what we eat, the journey it’s been through and how much is left is over has a huge impact on the world's resources. With population growth, climate change, diet-related diseases and huge inequality in the food system, do we need to take a fresh look...
Havin Guneser on Abdullah Öcalan’s Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization
A talk on Abdullah Öcalan's writing by Havin Guneser in Brighton on 24 May 2016, organised by STEPS and the Sussex Kurdish Community.
Havin Guneser on Abdullah Öcalan’s Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization
A talk on Abdullah Öcalan's writing by Havin Guneser in Brighton on 24 May 2016, organised by STEPS and the Sussex Kurdish Community.
‘Transformations’ events at the Hay Festival
At the Hay Festival in Wales, three discussion events in our 'Transformations' series will investigate how change happens in different arenas, and how rapid and just transitions can be achieved to create more sustainable futures. Tickets can be purchased online in advance from the Hay Festival website. How Quickly Can We Change…Culture? 31 May 2016...
CANCELLED: Towards a class-based approach to global energy transition
Convening Space, IDS Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomSeminar with Kolya Abramsky on a class-based approach to energy transition.
Reimagining development in Least Developed Countries: what role for the SDGs?
Central LondonThe challenges and opportunities that the Sustainable Development Goals create for least developed countries will be discussed at an event in London next month. The Least Developed Countries Independent Expert Group, the International Institute for Environment and Development and the ESRC STEPS Centre will host a dialogue on Monday, 13 June to discuss the challenges and...
Rapid transition in finance and economics: recent and historical perspectives
Monsoon Room Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, UK See event page (Lady Margaret Hall website) This event is part of a series of Transformations events, organised by the New Weather Institute, the Centre for Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex, and the ESRC STEPS Centre. Charge: Free, but please register in advance by email...
Rapid transition in finance and economics: recent and historical perspectives
Monsoon Room Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, UK See event page (Lady Margaret Hall website) This event is part of a series of Transformations events, organised by the New Weather Institute, the Centre for Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex, and the ESRC STEPS Centre. Charge: Free, but please register in advance by email...
Webinar: African Farmer game
The African Farmer game will be presented at a webinar organised by CORE Group's Social and Behavior Change Working Group. Register online to attend this webinar. It will be held from 11am - 12pm Eastern Time. Presenters John Thompson, Senior Research Fellow, Rural Futures Cluster; Institute of Development Studies James Jackson, Designer/Developer; African Farmer Project...
STEPS: to a systemic ecology of mind – seminar with Ray Ison
Convening Space, IDS Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomConvening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, UK This seminar will cover a broad sweep of issues under the general rubric of building systemic governing capability in the context of the Anthropocene. Prof Ison's starting point will be to lay down a challenge as to whether those present have a systemic ecology of...
Andy Stirling on Nexus Methods (7th ESRC Methods Festival)
ESRC Methods Festival, Room 3.16 University of Bath, UK STEPS co-director Andy Stirling (SPRU) is speaking on Nexus Methods as part of the 7th ESRC Methods Festival. The presentation is split into two parts: The depth, scope and diversity of 'nexus' challenges to methodology An illustrative practical response: the STEPS pathways approach and multicriteria mapping...
IDS 50: Sustainability transformations: the intersecting roles of state, market and society
Room 100, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, United KingdomPart of the Institute of Development Studies 50th Anniversary Conference: States, Markets and Society, this panel session will examine the politics of sustainability transformations through different cases, drawing on the work of the STEPS Centre and the emerging STEPS Global Pathways to Sustainability Consortium. The panel will open with an overview of the different ways...
Webinar: Transformative Knowledge Networks – solutions-oriented research in practice
Tuesday, 5 July 2016 16:00 – 17:00 CEST (14:00 – 15:00 UTC) Research on global change and sustainability increasingly goes hand in hand with calls for profound change and social transformation – but what do we know about these processes in different, concrete contexts of application? What can social science-led research contribute to generating solutions and...
STEPS at the SPRU 50 conference – Transforming Innovation
University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomTania Li: ‘What is politics?’
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomSTEPS Seminar, all welcome Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RE Listen to the seminar Hear Tania Li's seminar below, including questions and answers with the audience. Abstract: My seminar will cover a broad sweep of issues under the general rubric of building systemic governing. In my discipline of anthropology,...
Kolya Abramsky: ‘Towards a Class-Based Approach to Global Energy Transition: Shifting Energy Demand, Expanding the Renewable Energy Sector and Phasing Out Fossil Fuel’
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomSTEPS Seminar - all welcome Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, BN1 9RE Abstract: Terms such as “energy democracy” and “climate justice” have gained increasingly widespread usage and acceptance over the last 5 years. In order to give weight to these slogans, it is necessary to understand the class relations behind the...
Who is the digital revolution for?
Panel at the event: Ann Light, Kat Braybrooke, Tim Jordan, Caroline Bassett and Andrew Sleigh. Lighthouse, 28 Kensington Street Brighton, BN1 4AJ, UK This public event on 28 September 2016 explored how society and digital technology can shape each other for the common good. The event, part of the Brighton Digital Festival, is part of...
Is the future nuclear? Battle of Ideas debate with Andy Stirling
BooksFrobisher Auditorium 1 Battle of Ideas, Barbican Centre, London STEPS co-director Prof Andy Stirling (SPRU) will debate the role of nuclear power in the future of energy, at a debate hosted by the Battle of Ideas, the flagship festival run by the Institute of Ideas in London. The event is open to Battle of Ideas...
Emancipatory Transformations: Engaging Radical Democracy in Kurdistan
A public event and workshop on 3-4 November in Brighton, UK focused on the remarkable political transformations happening in Rojava (Western/Syrian Kurdistan) in the midst of bloody conflicts and a humanitarian crisis. In the region, citizens are experimenting with ‘democratic confederalism’ and ideas from feminism and ecology as part of an ambitious project of radical...
Food Agendas in a Post-Brexit Future: BSUFN Symposium 2017
Brighton , United KingdomBrighton, UK (buy tickets) There has been much talk of the ways in which the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, or ‘Brexit’, will impact British farmers due to changes to the Common Agricultural Policy. We believe that Brexit will have far reaching effects across the food systems in many ways, in the UK, Europe...
Sustainability in Turbulent Times
Central London‘Sustainability in turbulent times: How can research, policy and business meet global challenges?’ CUSP/Nexus Network/CECAN conference Venue: Central London Twitter: Follow the conference at #SITT2017 Over the next few years, the British exit from the EU, a new US administration, and unpredictable waves of populism and authoritarianism are likely to recast key environmental and social...
Transforming Innovation: Addressing Nexus Challenges with Radical Change
Central LondonWhat kind of innovations are needed to address the interconnected 'nexus' of challenges related to water, food, energy and other resources in a changing world? This event in central London is organised by the Nexus Network, an ESRC funded initiative to support thinking about the interdependencies, tensions and trade-offs between nexus resources and issues. It...
STEPS Seminar: Where are the missing co-authors? Authorship practices in participatory research
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomJoin us for a STEPS Seminar with Louise Fortmann (University of California at Berkeley), on 3 April 2017 at the Institute of Development Studies. The increase in publications based on participatory research has raised questions about crediting the contributions of non-academic collaborators. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, trends and patterns in authorship and acknowledgment practices...
Rapid Transitions: how did we do that?
Brighton , United KingdomJoin in on Twitter: #RapidTransitions In the face of environmental crises and global inequality, how can we work together for more sustainable futures? What can we learn from great transitions and transformations of the past? This event brought together activists, academics and practitioners to explore what we can learn from history and how we accelerate...
STEPS Seminar: Todd Crane – Interdisciplinary science and subjectivities in research for development
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, United Kingdom‘Interdisciplinary science and subjectivities in research for development: What are the implications of methods and measures?’ STEPS Seminar - all welcome Socio-ecological research continues to grapple with how to represent social and biophysical phenomena in integrated and balanced ways. Methodological choices, especially regarding representation of the social, have important implications for the robustness of the...
Seminar – Ruth Hall: The Reinvention of Land Reform in South Africa: State, Market and Citizens
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, United KingdomInstitute of Development Studies seminar with Ruth Hall, Institute of Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), South Africa This event will be accompanied by a live audio stream and online discussion. Land reform, one of post-apartheid governments’ main transformatory programmes, has itself been transformed over the past twenty years, reflecting changing policy agendas and ideological...
STEPS Seminar: Charles Tonui on the co-management of mangrove forest in Gazi Bay, Kenya
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, United Kingdom‘The Role of Community Based Organisations and Associations in Co-management of Forests in Kenya: The case of Mikoko Pamoja Community Based Organisation (MPCBO) and Gogoni-Gazi Community Forest Association (GOGACFA) in the Co-management of Mangrove Forest in Gazi Bay, Kenya’ STEPS Seminar with Charles Tonui, African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), Kenya. All are welcome to...
STEPS Annual Lecture: Achim Steiner
Fulton A Lecture Theatre, University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomDOOMED TO FAIL OR BOUND TO SUCCEED? Sustainable Development and the Green Economy Agenda - Revisited Achim Steiner delivered the 2017 STEPS Annual lecture at the University of Sussex on 15 May. Steiner is former Executive Director of UNEP and now director of the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. In April 2017...
The Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative: Launch Event
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomSeminar & launch event with Ruth Hall (Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies) and Ian Scoones (Institute of Development Studies/STEPS Centre). All welcome - registration is not required. Deepening inequalities, failed livelihoods, mass (under)employment, climate chaos, and racist anti-immigrant attacks characterise many settings across the world. Forms of ‘progressive neoliberalism’ have failed to stem...
Resilience 2017: Resilience Frontiers for Global Sustainability
STEPS Centre members and our partners from the Pathways to Sustainability Global Consortium will be taking part in the Resilience 2017 conference in Stockholm on 20-23 August 2017. The conference will discuss resilience as a key lens for biosphere-based sustainability science. It will reflect back on the scientific progress made, and aim to set out...
Transformations 2017: Transformations in Practice
Forum Theatre, Level 1, Arts West The University of Melbourne, Parkville campus Forum Theatre, Level 1, Arts West The University of Melbourne, Parkville campus, Melbourne, AustraliaMembers of the STEPS Centre, along with colleagues from the Pathways to Sustainability Global Consortium, will be attending the Transformations 2017: Transformations in Practice conference in August. The Transformations conference is hosted by the Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience (CECHR) at the University of Dundee. It is the third in a biennial series...
4th BICAS Conference: New Extractivism, Peasantries and Social Dynamics, Moscow 2017
Bacchus Room, New Orleans Marriott 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA, United StatesNew Extractivism, Peasantries and Social Dynamics: Critical Perspectives and Debates BRICS Initiative in Critical Agrarian Studies fourth conference Moscow, 13-16 October 2017 A call for abstracts has been published, with a deadline of 15 June 2017. About the conference Over the past two decades, agrarian economies and food systems have been undergoing a profound restructuring...
Can we all learn about how to respond to global uncertainties from pastoralists at the margins?
European University Institute Sala Triaria, Villa Schifanoia, Via Giovanni Boccaccio, Fiesole, Florence, ItalyEuropean University Institute, Fiesole, Florence, Italy Lecture by Ian Scoones at the European University Institute as part of the ERC-funded project Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Resilience: Global Lessons from the Margins. Find out more about this project Uncertainties are everywhere: climate change, financial crises, migration flows, infrastructure development, disease outbreaks and more. Yet contemporary institutions and...
Precaution in the Governance of Technology
UCL Roberts 106 LT Roberts Building, Torrington Place, London, United KingdomSTEPS co-director Andy Stirling will give the Centre for Law and the Environment's 2017 Annual Lecture, entitled 'Precaution in the Governance of Technology'. Details: Tuesday 31 October 2017, 18:00 - 19:00 UCL Roberts 106 LT, Roberts Building, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE Speaker: Professor Andrew Stirling (University of Sussex) Chair: Professor Maria Lee (University College...
STEPS Seminar – Channing Arndt: ‘Faster Than You Think: The Global Energy Revolution and Developing Countries’
Room 221, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, United KingdomSTEPS Centre seminar with Channing Arndt, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute Institute of Development Studies, Room 221, 15 December 2017 An energy revolution is underway. Driven by an enormous and unexpected downward shift in the full cost of renewable generation technologies, global investment in renewable electricity generation has exceeded investment in conventional...
Seminar: Ian Scoones – Can pastoralists help us respond to global uncertainties?
Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomSeminar by Ian Scoones, Director, ESRC STEPS Centre and Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies. Watch video of this event Tuesday 9 January 2018 13:00 to 14:30 IDS Convening Space All welcome Part of the Complexity and Development seminar series Uncertainties are everywhere: climate change, financial crises, migration flows, infrastructure development, disease outbreaks...
How are the pathways to resilience in pastoralist areas of Eastern Africa evolving?
Forum Theatre, Level 1, Arts West The University of Melbourne, Parkville campus Forum Theatre, Level 1, Arts West The University of Melbourne, Parkville campus, Melbourne, AustraliaWebinar panel discussion organised by the Feinstein International Centre at Tufts University from 9 - 10am EST, 10 January 2018. Register here (Tufts website) Another ongoing and severe drought in East Africa has reopened debates on the viability of pastoralism, alternative livelihoods, and ways to support resilience. The Feinstein International Center has been studying these...
A Crisis of Expertise? Legitimacy and the challenge of policymaking
Forum Theatre, Level 1, Arts West The University of Melbourne, Parkville campus Forum Theatre, Level 1, Arts West The University of Melbourne, Parkville campus, Melbourne, AustraliaSTEPS Co-Director Andy Stirling will deliver the Keynote address on the final day of The 2018 Melbourne School of Government's conference, talking about expertise and democracy: from adversarial crisis to mutualistic renewal. ABOUT THE EVENT The economic, social and environmental governance challenges facing contemporary societies are growing in severity, scope and complexity; yet trust in...
Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation in Urbanising India
National Agriculture Science Complex, Pusa Delhi, India This event in Delhi explores how urban authorities and other parts of civil society can improve their approaches to ecosystems and the services they provide in urbanising contexts. The event involves people involved in decision-making, research and practice related to urbanisation and ecosystems. The organisers aim to share...
International conference: ‘Authoritarian Populism and the Rural World’
Institute of Social Studies The Hague, Netherlands17-18 March 2018 International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) The Hague Netherlands Authoritarian populism is on the rise, boosted by support from rural areas. This conference examines why, and explores the alternatives: the social and political processes in rural spaces that are resisting or responding to regressive, authoritarian politics. Organised by the Emancipatory Rural Politics...
When the Wolf Guards the Sheep: Green extractivism and confronting the industrial machine
Room G22, Jubilee Building University of Sussex, Brighton, United KingdomAs part of the Politics of Nature reading group, Dr Alexander Dunlap, co-hosted by the CGPE and STEPS centre, presents a seminar on the merits of an anarchist political ecology in assessing extractive projects and charting new directions in (re)imagining ecological, unruly and dignified futures. Drawing on case studies of Europe’s largest opencast coal mine, the Hambach...
Emancipatory rural politics I: contextualizing authoritarian populism and emancipatory rural politics
Bacchus Room, New Orleans Marriott 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA, United StatesSTEPS Member Amber Huff will chair a Panel Conference at The American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting 2018. ABOUT THE EVENT Deepening inequalities, socioeconomic exclusion, persistent poverty, fractured identity and loss of esteem are all features of rural areas today. All of these characteristics have been associated to differing degrees with the crises of...
Emancipatory rural politics II: resisting, mobilizing and creating alternatives
Bacchus Room, New Orleans Marriott 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA, United StatesThe second Panel Conference at The American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting 2018. ABOUT THE EVENT The current political conjuncture has given rise to new forms and manifestations of 'authoritarian populism' (Hall 1979, 1998) with wide-reaching implications (Scoones et al. 2017). In this session, we ask what alternative politics – and political-economic practices –...
Workshop: Maps, Measures and Narratives for Transdisciplinary ‘Grand Challenge’ Research
Tuesday 1st May UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, London This full-day workshop will consider the capacity of research communities, such as but not limited to those supported by The Nexus Network, to deliver inter- and transdisciplinary research. The workshop offers an opportunity for those engaged in such research to explore and pilot innovative methods for...
STEPS Annual Lecture: Kate Raworth
Jubilee Lecture Theatre University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomEconomics as if we wanted to survive the 21st century The economist Kate Raworth, author of the bestselling book Doughnut Economics, gave the 2018 STEPS Annual Lecture at the University of Sussex. This is the only public event of the STEPS Summer School on Pathways to Sustainability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow446ym9Tjc About Kate Raworth Kate Raworth is a...
Report from Rojava: Revolution at a Crossroads
Friends Meeting House Ship St, Brighton, United KingdomThis free public event features panellists Lloyd Russell-Moyle (MP, Kemptown Brighton), Elif Sarican (Kurdistan Students Union UK), Simon Dubbins (UNITE the union) and Janet Biehl (writer and artist, translator of 'Revolution in Rojava' and 'Sara: My Whole Life Was a Struggle') who discuss their experiences on delegations to northern Syria / Western Kurdistan and what...
Public event: Meeting Energy – EASST 2018 conference panel
Lancaster Town Hall Dalton Square, Lancaster, United KingdomLancaster Town Hall, Dalton Square Lancaster LA1 1PJ STEPS member Prof Andy Stirling (SPRU) is among the panel for this public event on energy, as part of the annual EASST conference. The other panellists are Gillian Kelly and João Camargo, and the meeting is chaired by Maggie Mort of Lancaster University. From the website: "With...
The Sustainable Development Goals: What are they and will they make a difference?
STEPS Co-director Ian Scoones will be delivering a talk in ‘The Lyceum’ tent at Wilderness festival on Sat Aug 4 (hosted by the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex) At the end of 2015, the world signed up to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These were to be universal, covering all of...
Transformations to Sustainability programme workshop
Fukuoka, JapanResearchers from two STEPS-related projects will attend this workshop, which brings together the projects of the Transformations to Sustainability (T2S) programme. The Pathways Network, now in its final year, will share findings and insights from its series of 'Transformation Labs' around the world. The TAPESTRY project, which began in 2018, explores how transformation may arise...
Transforming Power Relations: Insights from the Transformations to Sustainability programme
Fukuoka, JapanA panel session at the World Social Science Forum 2018 in Fukuoka, Japan, which includes contributions from the Pathways Network.
Pathways to Sustainability – Understanding Sustainability Challenges and Key Research Needs
Nairobi, Kenya This event, hosted by the Africa Sustainability Hub, explored sustainable development challenges and priorities for the African continent. Topics include the role of research and partnerships, what research is needed, priority funding areas and opportunities for Africa. Media coverage of the event Video coverage NTV, Kenya - YouTube Capital FM news - YouTube...
‘A New Politics From The Left’ – Book launch seminar with Hilary Wainwright
Convening Space Institute of Development Studies, United Kingdom31 October 2018 at 1.00 – 2.30pm Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies, UK Chaired by John Gaventa, IDS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAOpMurI510 Millions of people passionately desire a viable alternative to austerity, authoritarianism and fear. They reject both corporate capitalism and an elite political system over which they have no control, but they are sceptical of the...
Decolonial Transformations: Imagining, Practising, Collaborating
This event, arising from a collaboration between the University of Sussex and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), aims to create a space for conversations and collaborations around the theme of Decolonial Transformations. Venue: University of Sussex, Falmer campus Register: Prior registration is necessary to attend. Event description: This workshop provides a space...
Discussion: Transformations to Sustainability
Room 115, Jubilee Building, University of SussexThis event will discuss transdisciplinary methods, global collaborations and the politics of transformative action for sustainability, drawing on experiences from around the University of Sussex campus. Through making meaningful connections between a variety of areas and projects, we aim to understand the strengths of Sussex work on transformative change and identify opportunities to build on...
Argentine Congress of Open and Citizen Science (CIACIAR)
CIACIAR (Congreso de Ciencia Abierta y Ciudadana en Argentina) was a one-day congress held at the University of San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event was convened by CENIT and Cientópolis, and sponsored by STEPS Latin America. The event was attended by more than 200 people among researchers, scientists, disseminators of science and technology, and...
Dalit women’s narratives of the Green Revolution in rural South India
Room 119, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomRoom 119, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer BN1 9RE, UK Speakers: Divya Sharma (Research Fellow, SPRU) Saurabh Arora (Senior Lecturer, SPRU) Since the 1960s, the dominant narratives of the Green Revolution (GR) in India have focussed on state-led agricultural intensification through groundwater extraction, hybrid varieties of rice, synthetic agrochemicals and mechanisation. These narratives...
Can pastoralists help us to respond to global uncertainties?
College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Peking University, Beijing, ChinaSeminar by Ian Scoones, ESRC STEPS Centre director, at the College of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, Peking University Uncertainties are everywhere: climate change, financial crises, migration flows, infrastructure development, disease outbreaks and more. Pastoralists - people living largely from livestock in dryland, montane and Mediterranean regions - have long experience of responding to intersecting uncertainties....
Understanding Uncertainty and Climate Change: Views from India
Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom**THE DATE OF THIS EVENT HAS CHANGED** Seminar with Lyla Mehta, Shilpi Srivastava and Lars Otto Naess Research Fellows, IDS The scale and impacts of climate change remain deeply uncertain. This is particularly true at the local level, where climate related uncertainties combined with accelerated growth trajectories often exacerbate social and political inequities and the...
STEPS Seminar – Bioleft: experimenting with an open source seed system in Latin America
Room 100, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, United KingdomRoom 100, Institute of Development Studies Brighton, UK Everyone welcome Speaker: Anabel Marin (CENIT/STEPS America Latina) This seminar reports on work carried out in the STEPS America Latina hub as part of the ‘Pathways’ Transformative Knowledge Network. In her talk, Anabel Marin will outline the sustainability challenges facing Argentinean agriculture and describe the processes of...
Agency and social-ecological system (SES) pathways: The Transformation Lab in the Xochimilco SES
Room 101, Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex, BrightonRoom 101, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK 13:00 - 14:30 Speaker: Mario Siqueiros-García (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México/STEPS North America hub). All welcome Slides Agency and social-ecological system (SES) pathways: the Transformation Lab in the Xochimilco SES from STEPS Centre About the seminar Xochimilco is a wetland in the southern part of Mexico City. It...
Peter Newell: ‘Climate and development: A tale of two crises’ (Sussex Development Lectures)
Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomLecture by Prof Peter Newell (School of Global Studies, University of Sussex). Peter Newell is a member of the STEPS Centre and a founding member of the Rapid Transition Alliance. This lecture is one of the Sussex Development Lectures. The theme of the current series (2018/19) is Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals - Synergies and...
STEPS Seminar: Mathilde Gingembre – Bringing moral economy into the study of land deals: reflections from Madagascar
Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomSeminar organised by the Resource Politics and Rural Futures Clusters, in association with the STEPS Centre’s PASTRES project Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Slides View the slides from this talk (Slidehare) Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qC0YlUR3Rg This seminar discusses the concept of moral economy as a critical lens to understand responses to corporate land access within agrarian...
Ian Scoones: ‘The SDGs: A new politics of transformation?’ (Sussex Development Lectures)
Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomLecture by Prof Ian Scoones, STEPS Centre director. This lecture is one of the Sussex Development Lectures. The theme of the current series (2018/19) is Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals - Synergies and Tensions. About the lecture The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) potentially offer an inclusive, integrated approach to development, centred on social justice, for...
The Future of the World is Mobile: What can we learn from pastoralists?
European University Institute Florence, Italy Listen to this event About this event Can the experience of pastoralists, who have long relied on mobility, help us address the challenges of global migration, cross-border trade and managing flows of information and commodities? Mobility is increasingly central to our societies. Nomadic practices and networks that enhance mobility are...
STEPS Uncertainty series: Ilene Grabel – When Things Don’t Fall Apart
Convening Space, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomIlene Grabel Professor of International Finance University of Denver Free entry, all welcome Watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T-vQb5Nja4 About the lecture In When Things Don’t Fall Apart, Ilene Grabel makes a simple but controversial claim, based on the work of the eminent social scientist Albert O. Hirschman. Grabel argues that as concerns global financial governance and development...
Matteo Caravani: Disciplinary Diversification in Karamoja: The Case of Charcoal
Room 221, IDS Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomPASTRES/STEPS Seminar with Matteo Caravani, Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR) Room 221, Institute of Development Studies All welcome Following the Karamojong’s historical transition away from transhumant pastoralism – in what has been termed as the de-pastoralisation process – the regional economic reliance on off-farm activities has steadily increased. Colonial and post-colonial interventions have slowly...
STEPS Annual Lecture: Derek Wall – What would Elinor do (about climate change)?
Fulton Lecture Theatre A University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomFulton A Lecture Theatre University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton, UK Watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYV7IpcCtTQ * * * About the lecture What would Elinor do (about climate change)? Elinor Ostrom was the first and so far only woman to win a Nobel Prize in economics. Her innovative work on ecological economics challenged the notion of 'the...
PASTRES seminar: Pastoralism in the Arabian Peninsula – Reflections on contemporary challenges and adaptations to land use rights
Room 100, Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, United KingdomRoom 100, Institute of Development Studies Seminar with Dawn Chatty, co-hosted by the PASTRES project and the STEPS Centre All welcome Watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK53HSwe5PM&width=700&height=525 About the seminar Nomadic pastoralism in the Arabian Peninsula has undergone significant change over the past 150 years as a response to alterations in its relationship with central authority. Efforts to...
Why embracing uncertainty means rethinking development
Ester Boserup Prize Lecture by Ian Scoones, ESRC STEPS Centre / PASTRES project Watch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGgGGxdDZBY Lecture details A1-01.01 Festauditoriet Bülowsvej 17, 1870 Frederiksberg C Copenhagen This lecture will draw on the European Research Council funded project, PASTRES (Pastoralism, Uncertainty, Resilience: Global Lessons from the margins) and will link to the ESRC STEPS Centre’s uncertainty...
Researching Pastoral Mobilities: Exploring Methods and Frameworks
18 – 21 June 2019 Friedensau University (Germany/Möckern) The “Pastoral Mobilities: Exploring Frameworks and Methods” writing workshop responds to the need to revisit our methodological infrastructure, as researchers of mobile pastoralism, to align with broader advancements in the understating of pastoral livelihoods and their environments, as well as with the contemporary empirics of research with...
The Politics of Uncertainty: Practical Challenges for Transformative Action
Institute of Development Studies Library Road, Falmer, Brighton, United KingdomThis international academic symposium, held at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK, explored the theme of uncertainty - the STEPS Centre's theme for 2019. Book | Blog series | Podcast | Video | Background info Book The Politics of Uncertainty: Challenges of Transformation (Routledge, July 2020) is an Open Access book which further...
Transformation Laboratories as spaces for co-designing social-ecological transformation: learning from different contexts and approaches
The workshop will propose tools not only to academics but also to policy makers, practitioners, activists and everyone who is interested in designing multi-stakeholder spaces of transformation in the context of sustainability challenges in general and in extractive sectors such as mining and agriculture in particular.
Negotiating Epistemological Frameworks and Normative Commitments Across a Transformative Knowledge Network
This is a session organised by the Pathways network for the Transformations 2019 conference in Sanitago, Chile.
Relational and Psychological Dimensions of Agency
This is a session organised with members of the STEPS Global Consortium for the Transformations 2019 conference in Sanitago, Chile.
Exhibition: ‘Hidden Paths’
ONCA Gallery 14 St George’s Place, Brighton, United KingdomONCA Gallery 14 St George’s Place, Brighton, BN1 4GB, UK 12.00 - 18.00 daily 16-20 October 2019 Free entry, donations to gallery welcome Global climate strikes are calling for ‘system change, not climate change’, but what does this mean? Extreme weather, automation, political instability, inequality: these crises are connected in deep and often invisible ways....
Applying Technologies of the Self in Transformation Labs to Mobilize Agency
This is a presentation from members of the Pathways network as part of the Parallel T-Practice Sessions at the Transformations 2019 conference in Sanitago, Chile.
Why embracing uncertainty means rethinking development and reimagining the future
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wkL_5h1-o4 CRC Future Rural Africa Lecture Series Universität Bonn, GIUB Lecture by Ian Scoones, Institute of Development Studies/ESRC STEPS Centre/ERC PASTRES project This talk makes the argument for putting uncertainty at the centre of thinking and practice in development. This means rejecting a linear, technocratic framing and embracing the implications of uncertainty for today’s complex,...
[Postponed] STEPS Summer School 2020
Institute of Development Studies , United KingdomThe ninth and final STEPS Summer School on Pathways to Sustainability was due to take place on 11-22 May 2020, but has been postponed until the following year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Participants will explore the theme of pathways to sustainability through a mixture of workshops, lectures, outdoor events and focused interaction with STEPS Centre members....
*Postponed* STEPS Annual Lecture: Andrea J Nightingale
Fulton A Lecture Theatre, University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom* UPDATE, 18 MARCH 2020 * We are sorry that this event has been indefinitely postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bounding unruly landscapes: future imaginaries and socioenvironmental change 2020 STEPS Annual Lecture Andrea J Nightingale Professor in the Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo Fulton A Lecture Theatre University of Sussex...
ONLINE SEMINAR: Sango Mahanty – ‘Rupture: Conceptualising Nature-Society Transformation’
This event is the first in a series of online talks on the STEPS Centre’s ‘Natures’ theme. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHjQyVEXB-c About this event Rupture: Conceptualising Nature-Society Transformation* Sango Mahanty Resources, Environment and Development Program, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University *Based on a forthcoming paper with Sarah Milne, Keith Barney, Phuc Xuan To,...
Webinar: Transformations in and beyond Covid-19 in India and Bangladesh
11.00 UTC · 12.00 UK · 16.30 India · 17.00 Bangladesh Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u87JAXv5HZo About this event Flyer (PDF) This event is convened by the TAPESTRY project. The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted almost all aspects of life in India and Bangladesh. Apart from the immediate impacts on victims of the virus, the lockdowns imposed by governments...
Contested Natures: POLLEN 2020 conference
Contested Natures: Power, Possibility, Prefiguration Third Biennial Conference of the Political Ecology Network (POLLEN) 22-25 September 2020 Brighton, UK #POLLEN20 The Third Biennial Conference of the Political Ecology Network, Contested Natures: Power, Politics, Prefiguration, was held online from 22 – 25 September 2020. Visit the conference platform Video: Keynote sessions Use the playlist below to...
Politics of Nature reading group: Indigenous Climate Change Studies
Join us for an online discussion on readings related to the politics of nature. This month, the readings are: Indigenous Climate Change Studies: Indigenizing Futures, Decolonizing the Anthropocene by Kyle Whyte Read this article (PDF) Decolonization is not a metaphor by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang Read this article (PDF) How to join To...
Communities, technologies and democratic innovation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UGbxHNiMR0 Fusebox director Phil Jones interviewed Prof Andy Stirling and Prof Adrian Smith in a roundtable discussion. They talked about the importance and challenges around democratising innovation, and how people around the world are already practicing new forms of innovation and demanding better from existing innovation institutions. They explored why technology and the kinds of...
Covid-19 and development: the politics of uncertainty
This event was part of the Sussex Development Lectures. Why is uncertainty so important to politics today? From finance and technology to climate change, pandemics, migration and security, what the future holds feels increasingly uncertain and demands alternative approaches. If hopes of much-needed progressive transformations are to be realised, then current blinkered understandings of uncertainty...
Politics of Nature reading group: Infrastructural Brutalism
Join us for an online discussion on readings related to the politics of nature. This month, the reading is Infrastructural Brutalism: Art and the Necropolitics of Infrastructure by Michael Truscello More about this book How to join To join the PoN email list and / or get access to the Zoom links and readings for...
Enchanting nature: tentacular storytelling in the Great African Kelp Forest
Roundtable with My Octopus Teacher director Pippa Ehrlich and others from the Sea Change Project Video recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNL-TDa31ks About this event There is a forest beneath the waves off the western coast of South Africa that is as biologically rich as a tropical rainforest. Few people have experienced the Great African Kelp Forest like the...
Politics of Nature reading group: Hope Against Hope
Join us for an online discussion on readings related to the politics of nature. The reading for this session is the book by the Out of the Woods Collective, Hope Against Hope: Writings on Ecological Crisis. How to join To join the PoN email list and / or get access to the Zoom links and...
The Truth About Nature: Environmental politics in a post-truth, digital world
A presentation by Bram Büscher, author of The Truth about Nature: Environmentalism in the Era of Post-Truth Politics and Platform Capitalism, followed by roundtable discussion with Elizabeth Havice and Max Ritts. Moderator: Amber Huff Watch the video Video (120 minutes) of the whole discussion is available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtR2fN-mvJU About this event How should we share the...
Transforming Environments from the Bottom Up – Examples from Marginal Environments in India
This is the first of two virtual sessions convened by the TAPESTRY project at the Gobeshona Conference on Locally Led Adaptation Action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy88UA9CBuU Speakers: Ketaki Bhadgaonkar (Bombay 61) Jai Bhadgaonkar (Bombay 61) Hans Nicolai Adam (NIVA) Ranit Chatterjee (Kyoto University) Rohit Jha (Kyoto University) Mihir Bhatt (AIDMI) Lyla Mehta (IDS) Chair: Terry Cannon (IDS) About...
Sundarbans without boundaries
The second of two virtual sessions convened by the TAPESTRY project at the Gobeshona Conference on Locally Led Adaptation Action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfsB6zG3GLA Speakers: Shababa Haque (ICCCAD) Upasona Ghosh (Indian Institute of Public Health, Bhubaneshwar) Mahmuda Mity (ICCCAD) Shibaji Bose (Researcher/communications professional) Annu Jalais (National University of Singapore) Amites Mukhopadyay (Jadavpur University, Kolkata) Md Nadiruzzaman (Hamburg University)...
Webinar: What can we learn from the world of pastoralism for wider agrarian struggles?
27 January at 12-13.30 (UTC) Speakers: -Ian Scoones, PASTRES Programme, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex, U.K. -Maryam Rahmanian (IPES) -Rahma Hassan PhD Fellow, University of Copenhagen and University of Nairobi Register for this event Pastoralists are some of the most marginalised people on the planet, but they have much to teach us all. Pastoralists...
The Politics of Uncertainty – webinar with Natalie Burns and Andy Stirling
About this Event Register online This roundtable discussion is part of a project with the University of Sussex that looks beyond Silicon Valley to try and develop more effective and socially useful approaches to technology innovation. The project links three digital entrepreneurs with three academics from the University of Sussex, to discuss with tech innovators...
Webinar: Ethics of quantification
14.00-16.45 CET, online This webinar features a panel including STEPS co-director Andy Stirling, alongside Andrea Saltelli and Wendy Espeland. Details & joining instructions About the event Numbers are at the core of the nexus between technoscience, society and the new media. The potential of numbers to inflict harm is on par or superior to those...
Challenging Research for sustainability: transdisciplinary methods, relationships, politics and praxis
As the ESRC STEPS Centre enters its final year, join us for the first in a series of virtual dialogues on methodologies, exploring the theme of ‘Challenging Research’ for sustainability. Subscribe to our Events newsletter In this first event on 17 February, we discuss the ideas and praxis involved in ‘opening up’ and ‘broadening out’...
Power and Methods (ARIN webinar)
14.30-16.30 (East Africa Time/Nairobi) 5 March 2021, online Subscribe to our Events newsletter During 2021, the African Research and Impact Network (ARIN) are convening a series of events and engagements on Methods. The ARIN events explore the question of Decolonising Methodologies to Sustainability in Africa. In the Global South, ‘coloniality’ has long been associated with...
Valuing Diversity in Methods – ARIN webinar
April 15 @ 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm EAT (East African Time) Organised by Africa Research and Impact Network (ARIN) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoRaaKT682g In 2021, the Africa Research and Impact Network (ARIN) and partners (ACTS Kenya, STEPS Centre UK, Umbela Transformaciones Sostenibles and the Global Sustainability Hubs), are exploring what decoloniality would mean for research methods, and policy (engagement,...
SRI 2021: Showing leadership in sustainability science – Lessons from the Global South and beyond the academy
The upcoming 2021 Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress (SRI) is hosting a session on leadership in sustainability science, narrowing in on what lessons can be drawn from the Global South. Among the session's speakers are two STEPS Centre colleagues: D. Parthasarathy, co project leader of the TAPESTRY Project, and Joanes Atela of the STEPS Africa...
Transformations conference: Transformative Responses to Climate Uncertainties in South Asia
This session is open to registered participants at the Transformations Conference 2021. In this session we present and open for debate experiences and challenges (methodological and conceptual) from carrying out project research on transformation from ‘below’ in marginal environments in South Asia marked by high levels of climate-related uncertainties and where transformative changes are being...
Transformations Conference: Theories and Perspectives of Transformations
This session is open to registered participants at the Transformations Conference 2021. A live Q&A session with the authors of the presentations in this Interactive Session will take place at the scheduled time. Registered participants can watch the pre-recorded presentations from 7/06/2021 until 31/08/2021. Speakers: Bruce Goldstein Cristina Costa Salavedra Neha Mungekar Paulina Aldunce Andy Stirling...
T-Lab: Transformation As Praxis – Responding To Climate Change Uncertainties In Marginal Environments In South Asia
This session is open to registered participants at the Transformations Conference 2021. In this session we present and open for debate experiences and challenges (methodological and conceptual) from carrying out project research on transformation from ‘below’ in marginal environments in South Asia marked by high levels of climate-related uncertainties and where transformative changes are being assembled...
Transformations Conference: Africa – ‘Philosophical Underpinnings’ In Decolonizing Research Methods For Transformation Towards Sustainability
This plenary session is open to registered participants at the Transformations Conference 2021. This event is convened by the Africa Research and Impact Network (ARIN). CONVENERS: Joanes Atela and Joel Onyango. With contributions from Andrew Stirling, Laura Pereira, Nadia Sitas, and Jessica Cockburn View conference programme Background In contributing to the decoloniality imperative, the session...
Transformations Conference: Tales of Uncertainty, Resilience and Transformation Through Visual Stories and Narratives
This session is open to registered participants at the Transformations Conference 2021. We focus how participatory storytelling, through visual methods, facilitates an engaged process of building knowledge from below by sketching issues of vivencia representing climate change, uncertainty and transformative actions in South Asia. The participants discuss potential, limitations and scope for co-creation of knowledge....
Transformations Conference: Transformations from within: Towards a 2nd person epistemologies & methodologies
This session is open to registered participants at the Transformations Conference 2021. Presenters: Jesús M. Siqueiros, Alex Penn; Lakshmi Charli-Joseph; Beth Cullen; Marina Apgar; Andrew Stirling Abstract: Structural, systemic and enabling transformations towards sustainability require reconnecting to our local environment and the biosphere in general (i.e., Folke et al. 2011, Scoones et al. 2020, among...
Pastoralism and climate change in West Africa: implications for policy and practice
A public webinar event hosted by the Ghana Hub of the Institute of Development Studies. The event includes a contribution from STEPS co-director and PASTRES project convenor Ian Scoones. Register / More info Speakers Professor Steve William Tonah, Advanced Researcher, University of Ghana Professor Gabriel Teye, Vice-Chancellor, University for Development Studies Professor Gordana Kranjac-Berisavljevic, Professor...
ARIN Webinar: Multidimensionality of Methods
Webinar organised by the Africa Research and Impact Network (ARIN). 8 July 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZMaXeye9OU This webinar explores multiple facets of research (such as funding flows, research politics, and the perceived research power dynamics between female and male researcher), and how collectively they promote or undermine decoloniality of methods. Considering that different disciplines have variety in...
SUNDARBANS WITHOUT BOUNDARIES: Co-creating Transformative Knowledge and Action
Sundarbans Roundtable Session at ICCCAD Roundtable 26 July 2021 Co-hosted by the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and the TAPESTRY project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETtL_X7PYqk This roundtable discussed the possibilities and results of transboundary research in the Indian and Bangladesh Sundarbans. Speakers shared views from their work on the nature and extent of boundaries; and...
ARIN/ASH Summer School on Decolonizing Sustainability Research
15-22 August 2021 Organised by the Africa Research & Impact Network and Africa Sustainability Hub Deadline for applications: 1 June 2021 Full details (ARIN website) Application form Background In the Global South, ‘coloniality’ has long been associated with political rule over subordinated countries. 1. Struggles for ‘decoloniality’ have evolved from the undoing of colonial rule, to the...
Through the Eyes of the Kolis: A reflection on Mumbai’s past, present & future
21 August 2021 at 17.00 - 18.30 (India Time) A talk and an open discussion on the future of the Koli community in Mumbai. The panel consists of Kolis who are extremely passionate about the community and enthusiastic to work for the betterment of their people and their culture. Be a part of this discussion...
Roundtable: Old Cities, New Risks
26 August 2021 at 17.00-18.30 (India time) This Roundtable brought together a panel of experts and key stakeholders to discuss the risks faced by India’s cities in the context of climate change and other uncertainties, and how to respond to them. The main objective of this Roundtable was to work with the participants to co-create...
Lecture: Why embracing uncertainty means rethinking development
Sussex Development Lecture by Ian Scoones, co-director of the STEPS Centre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JGgDEUYG78 This lecture makes the argument for putting uncertainty at the centre of thinking and practice in development. This means rejecting a linear, technocratic framing and embracing the implications of uncertainty for today’s complex, dynamic world. Through a number of examples – from the...
Exhibition: Seeing Pastoralism – Livestock and Climate Change
3-12 November 2021 Civic House, 26 Civic Street, Glasgow G4 9RH This photo exhibition explores how pastoralists from three continents are tackling climate change. The exhibition is linked to a new report that explains why climate assessments need to differentiate between climate-damaging intensive production and extensive, mobile pastoral production. A launch event on 3 November...
Methods bazaar: Transdisciplinary methods for sustainability
An online knowledge exchange event for researchers and other participants in sustainability initiatives interested in transdisciplinary methods 8 November 2021 15.00 - 18.00 UTC/GMT BLOG: The Methods 'bazaar' - What did we learn about transdisciplinary methods for sustainability? Video and reflections from the event, including short talks by researchers with experience of using methods...
Pathways to sustainability: knowledge, politics and power
Virtual event, 8 December 2021 This final event of the ESRC STEPS Centre brought together friends, collaborators and networks from around the world. We explored the major challenges for sustainability in the present moment, reflected on lessons from the past fifteen years, and discussed future possibilities, plans and initiatives. Video playlist: Watch Talks from the...
Populism, authoritarianism and agrarian struggles
16 February 2022 11:00 São Paulo/15:00 Amsterdam/19:30 New Delhi/22:00 Beijing Register Around the world emerging new exclusionary politics are generating deepening inequalities, jobless ‘growth’, climate chaos, and social division. These processes have been intensified or exposed in many places by the Covid-19 pandemic and responses to it, but they are not new. Since 2017 the...
The politics of climate change and uncertainty in India
31 March 2022 at 17.00 (UK time) **Please note the new time of this event** This Sussex Development Lecture will introduce the themes of uncertainty explored in the new book The Politics of Climate Change and Uncertainty in India. More information and registration details are on the IDS website. Find out more