The global mobilization, that is especially involving young people across the globe, rising up against a systematic failure to address the climate crisis, leads researchers and educators to ask what kind of knowledge is necessary, in formal and informal contexts, to face these challenges. In this contextwe present here two public engagement initiatives joining researchers and students, the "Futuring Tours" (FT), aimed at collecting ideas and visions to re-imagining the future of some Italian transitional areas and the possible social and environmental impacts. The first activity, in November 2016, engaged students within an Environmental Science university course of Geomorphology of coastal systems at the University Ca' Foscari of Venice. The second, in October 2017, involved local high schools of Bagnoli (Naples) and Taranto, within an informal communication initiative of the Long term Ecological Research network LTER Italy. Students in both cases were invited to carry out some walking tours along coastal itineraries, using their senses in a dynamic and analytical way to observe the territory and the human impact on it, looking for traces of past, present and incipient futures and imagining possible developments. They could register what they noticed and interact with the inhabitants or other experts of the area they met on their way. The experience was challenging for the students and, in some cases, even disrupting: their idea of knowledge/s appeared widened, becoming inclusive of the role of values besides scientific data in building the future scenarios. FTs revealed an opportunity of integration and trans generational communication, connecting different epistemologies, spaces and temporalities. By engaging students with such activities, aimed at promoting their role of citizens, with impact and responsibilities, educational, universities and research institutions could better respond to the global drivers for systemic change
Building participative scenarios for transitional areas: what knowledge do we need?
L'Astorina A;Petrocelli A;Pugnetti A
2020
Abstract
The global mobilization, that is especially involving young people across the globe, rising up against a systematic failure to address the climate crisis, leads researchers and educators to ask what kind of knowledge is necessary, in formal and informal contexts, to face these challenges. In this contextwe present here two public engagement initiatives joining researchers and students, the "Futuring Tours" (FT), aimed at collecting ideas and visions to re-imagining the future of some Italian transitional areas and the possible social and environmental impacts. The first activity, in November 2016, engaged students within an Environmental Science university course of Geomorphology of coastal systems at the University Ca' Foscari of Venice. The second, in October 2017, involved local high schools of Bagnoli (Naples) and Taranto, within an informal communication initiative of the Long term Ecological Research network LTER Italy. Students in both cases were invited to carry out some walking tours along coastal itineraries, using their senses in a dynamic and analytical way to observe the territory and the human impact on it, looking for traces of past, present and incipient futures and imagining possible developments. They could register what they noticed and interact with the inhabitants or other experts of the area they met on their way. The experience was challenging for the students and, in some cases, even disrupting: their idea of knowledge/s appeared widened, becoming inclusive of the role of values besides scientific data in building the future scenarios. FTs revealed an opportunity of integration and trans generational communication, connecting different epistemologies, spaces and temporalities. By engaging students with such activities, aimed at promoting their role of citizens, with impact and responsibilities, educational, universities and research institutions could better respond to the global drivers for systemic changeI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
