CES Winter School

Sustainable development, complexity and change: thinking and practices for the SDG and other objectives

14-18 December 2020, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm (GMT)

Online

Overview

 [The School's descriptive and evaluation summary report can be found here]
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This School is based in a logic of deep interdisciplinarity, oriented towards promoting productive, collaborative, critical and creative dialogues between different disciplines and modes of thinking, between theory and research and the practices that “in the real world” enact and realise, critique or present alternative or complementary proposals to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Being a part of the international political agenda since 1987, the notion of sustainable development is considered a global mark towards the awareness of the need of a new paradigm for development, guiding policies aimed at the respecting the interrelation between economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection as cornerstones for the individual and collective well-being.

However, both the concept and it’s expression, configured in the 17 SDG and their indicators, remain under discussion, raising issues about their adequacy to places, contexts and specific problems, about the practices that sustain the concept of sustainable development and the degree of congruence between the thinking underlying the SDG, the complexity of the world and the actions informed by such thinking.

The question needs to be raised that an insufficient recognition of the complexity of the problems that sustain the SDG and the realities they aim to dress, as well as of the need to develop modes of thinking and practices congruent with such complexity, may prevent or limit the success of this new agenda, even leading, in unpredictable ways to the configurations of new, more or less preferred or unwanted realities.

This Winter School aims to stimulate the discussion around the SDG, guided by critical, alternative and complementary views. We invite academics, activists, intervenors, educators and whoever more is interested in participating in the co-constuction of new ways of thinking and action that inform the pursue of sustainable and desirable alternatives for the place of humanity. A variety of creative techniques and mediums will be used to support rich interactions and dialogues amongst the participants and the co-evolution and co-construction of new ideas. 

The School will welcome the exhibit of posters from doctoral or postdoctoral researchers which will be target of a critical re-construction process throughout the School and equally presented in the last day. Throughout all days there will be an online exhibition of informative materials around the actions of diverse organisations, practitioners and activists, oriented to themes of development. The wider audience interested in the themes of the  School is invited to follow our daily reports and to interact with the group by posing questions and raising issues through our social media pages.

* This School was originally scheduled for September 2020 and then postponed to December and converted to a virtual/online format due to the COVID-19 pandemics

 

COORDINATORS
Rita Campos (CES-UC), Ana Teixeira de Melo (CES-UC), Philip Garnett (York Management School e York Cross-Disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, UK), Leo Caves (Independent researcher, PT, collaborator of the Centre for the Philosophy of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Associate do York Cross-Disciplinary Centre for Systems Analysis, University of York, UK).

Note: The team of coordinators leads and integrates the central team of the project  “Building Foundations for Complex Thinking to Promote Positive Change in Complex Systems” which aims at objectives aligned with those of the WS.


LOCAL PARTNER
Casa da Esquina (Coimbra)
                                       

GENERAL STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS
The School will use a variety of platforms and techniques to support rich interactions and dialogues between the participants and ensure conditions for the emergence of novel and creative ideas. It will combine  lectures/seminars and guided moments of group discussion aimed at the integration of knowledge and experiences towards the production of new ideas and projects.  The presentation of posters will take place in the afternoon of the first day which will be reconstructed collectively during the event. A graphic artist will contribute to the facilitation of the event and the production of a final Visual Manifesto. 

To ensure the full engagement in the group activities, participants will be asked to guarantee a minimal number of conditions and to have at their disposal a list of materials (cf. notes on REGISTRATION section, bellow).

The School will produce a variety of materials and outputs, targeting different audiences, which will  synthesise the contributions of the group for the rehearsal and experimentation of alternatives towards the construction of a  more positive and sustainable future for all. The Visual Manifesto, along with other outputs, will be shared with a wider audience, following the end of the Winter School. 

The development of the Winter School will be reported, day by day, through social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) allowing all of those interested in the subject to follow our work and contribute to our discussions with comments and questions which will for brought back to the group for reflection. Different organisations, institutions and initiatives, groups and practitioners and activists committed with sustainability and development are invited to share their work on our Facebook page

 

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
The official language of the School will be English.
 

TARGET-PARTICIPANTS
Researchers, doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, practitioners of NGO and NGOD, activists


MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
The School will take place with minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 participants


IMPORTANT DATES
Deadline for submission of applications: 23 October
Communication of acceptance of applications: 30 October


REGISTRATION

Registration fee: 100€

Notes
- The deadline for registration and payment is the 15th of November

- The registration includes access to all of the School activities and the platforms that will support them as well as the emission of  certificates 
- Registrations are only considered valid after payment.
- For cancellations up to 30th of November an administrative fee of 35€ will be charged. For cancellations after the 1st of December there will be no refunds. 

-The fees will be used to support the Graphic Facilitation of the event.

-The School will be hosted through Zoom and will combine a variety of other platforms and applications including Google Jam Board, Plectica, You Tube.
- The participants must ensure the following technical conditions: 

  • A stable, secure and sufficiently robust internet connection;
  • Video and audio connection: it will be required that the video is turned on during the whole sessions and there are conditions for good audio connections;
  • A smartphone capable of connecting to Zoom if necessary;
  • A smartphone capable of taking photos (to photograph the works they will be invited to produce individually); 
  • A Google account to connect to shared folders and other applications by Google and other providers (Google shared folders; Google Jamboard; Youtube channel) .

    -Participants must have a working kit with the following materials: White paper (A3 and A4); colour A4 sheets; sellotape; scissor; glue; colour felt tip pens or marker pens; play dough or plasticine; crayons (if very solid and with vibrant colours that will show well on photos). Additional optional materials include: colorful threads; lego blocks; pieces of cloth; journals and magazines for paper cuttings; lids of plastic bottles or tin lids; corks; or any other material for creative craft work.