Keynote Speakers

Social unrest in Latin America: A tipping point opportunity for transformation

The South American Co-Creative session focuses on two inspiring cases of social tipping points, Chile and Colombia. In Chile the “estallido social” (social outbreak) demands dignity, equity, and social justice, and in Colombia massive street mobilizations due to the discontent with government policies, including the poor implementation of the peace agreement. This co-creative session will focus on the constitutional process as a window of opportunity for establishing new transformative trajectories. We will hear first-hand from those involved in the process in Chile and Colombia. We will also hear from Guðrún Pétursdóttir, the Chair of the Icelandic Constitutional Committee, and the popular participation in the reform of the Constitution following the economic break-down in 2008.

In presenting these practical cases, this co-creative session will move from practice to theory and then from theory to practice and is hence an invitation to transformations scholars to develop a theoretically informed perspective on these processes, the current situation, and ideas that can be useful for social actors for writing the future that has been triggered by strong social demands and unrest.

GUIDING CO-CREATIVE QUESTION:

Which theoretical lenses are helpful to understand these cases and what concrete ideas from theory can put forward to practitioners engaged in these unfolding transformative processes?

CONVENERS: Paulina Aldunce and Diego Galafassi

Transforming narratives of place in Australia: Towards a tipping point?

The most radical transformation in Australian history took place in 1788 when the British Empire laid claim to the island continent with no regard for the rich tapestry of Indigenous nations already living there. Tens of thousands of years of Aboriginal history, and the violent colonization and subjugation that followed, were long buried in Australian narratives of place.

The purpose of this co-creation session is to explore how Australian narratives of place are transforming and what this tells us about the theory and practice of transformation in action. We will hear from several speakers about the narrative shifts they have been observing and their potential for positive transformation, from fields such as regenerative agriculture, Earth-centred law and governance, and new economics. We will then hear reflections from Indigenous speakers about the transformations they are witnessing, and what this means from their perspectives. Then, with help from participants, we will facilitate an interactive process to connect the Australian experience with other local narratives of place. Together, we will ask what these narrative transformations can tell us about the general dynamics of narrative transformation around the world. 

CONVENERS: Chris Riedy, Michelle Maloney, and Sam Wearne

CONTRIBUTORS: Anna Poelina

‘Philosophical Underpinnings’ in decolonizing research methods for transformation towards sustainability

In contributing to the decoloniality imperative, the session focuses on different ontological and epistemological perspectives associated with decolonizing methodologies. The session will involve a brief introduction on the concept of decolonizing methods for sustainability research to transformation, followed by a tripartite (academia/research, practice/practitioners, policy) engagement to: i) explore what philosophical underpinnings in sustainability research means in the various contexts; ii) define the implications of decolonizing the dominant narratives that are associated with the cultural diversity in the way knowledge is generated, used, and passed; iii) develop indicators for practice and policy in decolonizing how evidence in the space may be applicable; and iv) deliver a three-point research agenda for decolonizing research towards transformation sustainability (anchored in the philosophical development of research and practice)

CONVENERS: Joanes Atela, Joel Onyango

CONTRIBUTORS: Andrew Stirling, Laura Pereira, Nadia Sitas, and Jessica Cockburn