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...