Anthropocene engagements with the general public through visual and artistic approaches in Korea Public projection of the work created by Yiyun Kang and her students Technology, science, and policy alone cannot address the Anthropocene’s highly complex challenges. Art and creativity are also crucial in communicating these issues and shifting human perception. That is the reason why artist and researcher Professor Yiyun Kang engaged in a visual art project in collaboration with the KAIST Center for Anthropocene Studies (Daejon, Korea), highlighting the growing importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration and initiatives. A short film (in English) tells the story of this collaboration, and also give insigthes about the prupose of the Center. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER To stay up to date with our projects and the development of the EHC Read more articles

In France, ALLISS brings together academic and non-academic organizations to develop a “third sector” for research, which is essential for the development of participatory research Stéphanie Bost is the coordinator of the ALLIance Sciences Sociétés (ALLISS), in France What is ALLISS? Stéphanie Bost: ALLISS stands for ALLiance Sciences Société (alliance of sciences and societies). It is a French association that brings together research institutions, universities and players from the “third sector” of research. What is the “third sector” of research? S. B.: It is very heterogeneous: associations, cooperatives, small companies and even individual entrepreneurs. They all have in common to be involved in research projects, in one way or another. Some of them are professional researchers, others are not but all of them contribute to research and knowledge production. We only have one rule about our members: their purpose and organization must be in line with the goals of ALLISS. What exactly are these goals? S. B.: ALLISS is working to structure the “third sector” of research. First, to help the players to get to know each other better, so that they can build a common narrative. Then, on the basis of this common narrative, to constitute a credible partner for scientific research, with the research and higher education organizations. Basically, what is the point of developing this “third sector”? S. B.: The main driver is the desire to put the “third sector” of research alongside industrial research and university research. Pierre-Benoît Joly and Évelyne Lhoste, who are among the founding members of ALLISS, wrote about this “triple helix”. We want to ensure that civil society is recognized as a contributor to knowledge and research. And, more broadly, we want to highlight the notion of expertise from practice: the recognition that we have knowledge and expertise that comes from our practices. One of the best examples of this is the CO3 initiative (CO-COnstruction de Connaissances pour la transition écologique et solidaire, co-construction of knowledge for the ecological and social transition) a program co-funded between 2018 and 2024 by the Fondation de France, the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, the Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le Progrès Humain, the Agropolis Fondation and ADEME. This program has given rise to participatory research projects to emerge, bringing together actors from different worlds: citizens’ groups, food producers, farmers and university laboratories. These projects have shown that the expertise of users is as productive of knowledge as that of erudite scientists. When you are interested in a very specific topic, the expertise of people who are not researchers, but specialists in the field, is essential. Is it a matter of efficiency? S. B.: I wouldn’t use that word. It is about broadening the knowledge base and democratizing the production of knowledge. An example can be useful. One of the projects funded by CO3, called Roc-Cha, for ‘Réseau d’Observation et de Conservation in situ des variétés de Châtaignes et des savoirs co-construits locaux et scientifiques associés’ (Network for the Observation and in situ Conservation of Chestnut varieties and associated local and scientific co-constructed knowledge), associated chestnut growers and the CNRS Centre d’écologie fonctionnelle et évolutive in Montpellier to monitor the adaptation of chestnuts and chestnut trees to climate change. Based on surveys carried out by partner producers in the Ariège, Corsica, Ardèche and Drôme departments, the aim of the work with the scientists was to identify the varieties that would be best able to adapt to the decreasingly harsh climate, which is causing more and more damage to the trees. In a way, there is a search for efficiency in adaptation. The co-production of knowledge also means the co-production of future practices, on how we can adapt to changes in our climate, our economy and our society in general. In this example, we are talking about adapting to climate change. Is the goal of sustainability always present in your actions? S. B.: By co-producing knowledge with a range of stakeholders from different sectors, we aim to reduce our impact on resources and use them wisely. Is this a conviction shared by all ALLISS members? S. B.: Yes, and it helps determine the way we deal with our members.  Why are academic entities, who are not part of the “third sector”, members of ALLISS? S. B.: They are very interested in meeting non-academic organizations that are motivated by research. The development of this “third sector” allows them to build bridges, relationships and networks. Our members in the academic sector are convinced of the importance of working more closely with actors specialized in certain topics, from the local to the national level, in order to be more firmly rooted in socially relevant issues and questions. In addition, it is important for them to build up a common agenda, based on the grassroots issues. Does it make sense to do this at national level? S. B.: I am in favour of working through local and regional relays. They can support networks that are starting up in other regions. The shape and dynamics of the “third sector” are not the same everywhere, and that is good, because it helps us to see that it can have many different aspects. It is also useful to act at the national level: it allows us to compare practices, to identify good or bad practices, which helps us to move forward. At the national level, we can also lobby for regional plans and research policy laws, and take advantage of European framework programs. Is ALLISS part of a wider European network? S. B.: This is one of the missions I would like to work towards. I am not aware of any equivalents to ALLISS in other European countries. We have a representative from the University of Lausanne on our board, Alain Kaufmann, who has been working on these issues for a long time. Through him, we have links with the RÉIUNIS network (Réseau International Universités-Société, Universities society international network). Through my previous job at the Trait d’Union science shop in Montpellier, I am

A roundtable dedicated to the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development was organized in Muscat, Oman Silvina Ponce Dawson, the president of IUPAP, presented The Earth-Humanity Coalition during the International Science Council General Assembly – 28 January 2025 At the end of January 2025, the International Science Council organized its general assembly in Muscat, Oman. The section of the program focusing on science, 27th and 28th January,  was named The Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue. It was organized around three streams: Science systems and science futures; Science and just transformations to sustainability; Science and society The Decade of Science for Sustainability: The post-2030 agenda On 28th January, during a roundtable dedicated to the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development, Silvina Ponce Dawson, the president of IUPAP, presented The Earth-Humanity Coalition. Watch her talk her. You can also watch the video in full on ISC Youtube channel    SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER To stay up to date with our projects and the development of the EHC Read more articles

In the past four years, participatory research pervaded several kinds of initiatives undertaken by the university in order to develop strong links between research and citizens Thierry Machefert is Vice-President of the University of Caen Normandy, France, he is responsible for culture and the relationship between science and society – Dircom Unicaen The University of Caen Normandy was awarded the « Science avec et pour la société » (SAPS) label by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 2021. What was the content of your project? Thierry Machefert: Before the team led by President Lamri Adoui, who was elected at the end of 2020, took office, the relationships science-society were not a major topic at the University of Caen Normandy. We were determined to develop this area. We took the opportunity of the call for expressions of interest, launched in March 2021 by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, to propose a project with four axes. It was selected, along with those of seven other universities, and we received a €290,000 grant for 3 years (a total of €970,000). Our application was singular, as we built it with a non-academic partner, Le Dôme, a center for scientific, technical and industrial culture based in Caen, created by an association. Moreover, Le Dôme is singular itself, since it is a science center in which there is no permanent exhibition: it mainly offers public participation actions. You mentioned four axes. What are they? T. M.: The first one is participatory research, with several initiatives. In particular, we organize the Turfu Festival every year in conjunction with Le Dôme. This festival on participatory research pre-existed our partnership, but we have increased the presence of university players. We have also expanded the scope of the Têtes chercheuses contest, launched in 2010 by Relais d’sciences, the association that created Le Dôme. In addition to a prize awarded by the Fondation Musée Schlumberger, for the production of a scientific mediation device, we have created a second prize: the UNICAEN “Science & Société” prize funds a participatory research project. What are your other priorities? T. M.: The second axis concerns fake news and misinformation. In particular, we have set up a cinema-science cycle, which offers all kinds of films, including fiction for the general public. The third axis is devoted to training in mediation and participatory approaches. Its central focus is the creation of a master’s degree in “Information, Mediation, Science and Technology”, with a “Participatory approach and research” course. The start of the third promotion took place in September 2024. And the last axis? T. M.: It is the promotion and evaluation of participatory research and scientific mediation activities. How can we encourage and enhance the value of what academics do when they take on this kind of activities? The aim is to get them more involved, but also to give them better recognition by the university on the one hand, and by society on the other. For a long time now, many academics have been involved in mediation in schools, colleges and high schools, but it is more or less invisible: we want to show society that it is interesting to talk to scientists, to find out about their job, their methodology and how research works. We have created two partnerships: one with the association L’Arbre des Connaissances, to better deploy its Apprentis Chercheurs (scientists in training) scheme; and the other with Cercle FSER and its DECLICS initiative. These two schemes, aimed at primary school pupils, enabled us to structure, on a university scale, interventions that had previously been the result of personal initiatives. In fact, participatory research is present in all four axes? T. M.: Indeed! For example, a network of masters in scientific mediation was set up, as a consequence of the SAPS label process, and now includes a dozen establishments. We can see that in Caen, our specificity is based on a very strong emphasis on scientific mediation using participatory methods. Do you also train scientists in participatory research? T. M.: Indirectly. We have set up a cultural department, which is responsible for cultural and scientific issues, as well as science-society relationships. In this department, staff are dedicated to support academics who wish to set up a workshop at the Turfu Festival, or submit an application to the Têtes chercheuses contest, or propose a cinema-science session. It is a way of passing on skills to these researchers, without it being a training approach as such. In addition to the UNICAEN “Science & Société” prize, how do you encourage the emergence of participatory science projects? T. M.: The Turfu Festival is made up of several three-hour workshops, each of which must be a step in a participatory research project: the start of the project, an intermediary step, the assessment or the presentation of a completed project. It is another opportunity to support participatory research projects. Our idea is to create a dynamic that encourages academics to contact us when they want to develop such projects. For example, the cultural department dedicated to science and society has supported applications to the French national research agency (ANR) calls for projects on participatory research. At the end of 2024, Lamri Adoui was re-elected president of the university for a second term, with the same team. Did you include participatory research in your program? T. M.: The electoral program included the support and the promotion for this kind of research and for the academics who want to get involved. For example, we now offer the creation of a system that would make it easier to bring researchers into contact with society, within the framework of participatory research. We do not explicitly mention a “science shop”, as we need to make sure we have enough resources to implement it, but that is the idea. The funding associated with the SAPS label ended in 2024. How do you continue to fund these actions? T. M.: The situation is the same for all universities who received the label,

The science shop at Lumière-Lyon 2 University gives associations and social economy businesses access to research Florence Belaen is the director of the science shop at Lumière-Lyon 2 University What is the purpose of the science shop that you run? Florence Belaen: First and foremost, it is a way to bring the university closer to its environment. In France, since the 2010s, local authorities, of regions and cities like Lyon, have been increasingly supporting universities. This has led the elected representatives of these local authorities to demand that universities play a role in the development of the economy and the region, and that they assume their social responsibility by putting the production of academic knowledge to good use. We also have a strong and dynamic social economy, which is a major source of employment, and which the university has a duty to support. Does this rapprochement also meet the university’s needs? F. B.: There is a research trend, particularly in humanities and social sciences universities, that wants to be connected with the field. We are working on sustainable development and artificial intelligence, but we need to be in touch with the players in society: in major research programs, we sometimes forget about the end users. But we cannot have “thinking heads” on one side and the people who actually do the work on the other. Citizens have to “be in”. And there is also a pedagogical interest for the university: being able to offer students the opportunity to work on real situations, real societal demands. What initiatives have you set in place to meet these needs? F.B.: We collect social demands, and we assign students on masters courses, supervised by researchers, to answer to them through internships. How do you collect these requests? F.B.: We offer free academic expertise, which is attractive. But we need to get the word out: we communicate by traditional means, via social networks, and we work with networks of players, such as the Institut français du monde associatif. We currently receive around fifty requests a year. They come from associations, groups and cooperatives: the issues must be non-profit-making, of general interest, and the structure must be solid enough to take on a trainee. Do you receive any applications from more traditional companies? F. B.: The operation costs the university €4,500 for each intern. So we give priority to organizations that do not have a lot of resources. Requests from companies that can pay for academic expertise are redirected to the university’s research department. For the same reasons, we do not fund internships in local authorities, which have sufficient resources. This does not prevent us from sometimes supporting internships funded by these bodies. We also work a lot with Sciences Po’s Public Factory, which complements what we do: it responds to public commissions through student work. How does the selection process work? F. B.: We have a scientific committee, with whom we choose 13 internship projects: ten of which will be paid for by the Boutique des Sciences, and three by the host organizations. We also refer certain requests that we feel require a tutored project rather than a master’s-level placement to teacher-researchers. Are all the interested organizations capable of formulating relevant research questions? F. B.: No. First, they answer to a call for expressions of interest. We then offer them “emergence” workshops, where we get the applicants to work on what motivates them. This also enables us to check that the interest for the research is not just one person’s interest in the hosting organization, but that it is shared. Sometimes respondents come with too many questions, and we have to select the most important or urgent one. Sometimes they express a question that hides another one. When an association wants to work on the impact of its actions, for example, is it to prepare for lobbying, or to be accountable to their funders? Finally, we need to define the angle from which we are going to study the question, to determine the most appropriate speciality for the trainee. How do you go about this? F. B.: We draw up an internship offer for a student, and we recruit the students in conjunction with the concerned organization. We then look for an academic to provide scientific supervision. This sometimes makes it possible to introduce a multi-disciplinary approach: for example, the student might be doing a master in sociology, and the scientific manager might be in political science. We also need to involve the association in the research protocol: it has produced the question, but it needs to support the student in collecting data, analyzing the results, and so on. Two project managers accompany the placement, to train the intern and their supervisors in participatory research, introduce the models and pitfalls, and check that everyone has understood the framework. We also meet regularly with the association and, in general, we take part in the presentation and promotion of this work. What is the impact of this operation? F. B.: For the university, it is politically interesting, because it allows it to show that it works with social economy players, and that it devotes resources to it: the whole scheme costs 150,000 to 200,000 euros a year, which is significant. This gives visibility to master degrees, in anthropology or local development, for example. We also carried out an impact study with a consultancy firm. It showed that the associations were able to turn a corner, find reflective elements or decision-making aids, an economic model and arguments for their funders. When you involve local residents or end-users in a study, there is a transformation in power relations and negotiation. It is not so much the final report that will change things. But getting different stakeholders around the table, working together to develop an understanding of the situation, looking for solutions together, helps to mitigate some of the symbolic violence between them and to redress the balance of power: an association does not a priori have the same

Interactions between local knowledge and scientific expertise about the use of Argan tree promote heritage resilience in a rural environment in Morocco Goats are grazing in an Argan tree in Morocco This project explores the uses of the Argan tree throughout the medieval period. Using archaeology, bioarchaeology, archaeometry, the history of texts, ethnobiology and local expertise it seeks to understand the management of the Argan grove, and the technique of making Argan oil in the village of Igîlîz. Context Igîlîz is the birthplace of the Almohad movement, initiated by Ibn Tûmart, a famous Moroccan historical figure. This religious reform movement, active in the 1120s, led to the creation of the largest empire to rule the Muslim West during the Middle Ages. For a variety of reasons, Igîlîz disappeared from historiography, throughout the 20th century. Today the memory of Igîlîz has been preserved locally and is now being recovered nationally with particular emphasis on the emblematic Argan tree and the oil it produces. Method The project uses a transdisciplinary framework that combines scientific expertise with local knowledge to produce a co-reconstruction of the past. By using archaeological reflections alongside the exceptional wealth of local knowledge regarding sustainable farming and animal husbandry, food, construction and ceramic production, the project has been able to produce a lively reconstruction of daily life for local resilience in the face of a changing climate. Benefit Igîlîz offers a case of resilience. This resilience is at the heart of a project which aims to rebuild and enhance a piece of history and an area, of Morocco’s Souss-Massa region. The memory of this site has been preserved locally and is now being recovered nationally. The project continues to be developed with local communities to create an educational tourist circuit on the site. Faysal Lemjidi, University Cadi Ayyad, Morocco This text has first been published by BRIDGES in a special brochure. BRIDGES in a member of The Earth-Humanity Coalition. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER To stay up to date with our projects and the development of the EHC Read more articles

We released a video presentation of EHC in June 2024. Did you watch it?

Researchers from academic and non-academic communities explore together the many aspects of clam gardens constructed by coastal First Nations of British Columbia (Canada) and Native Americans of Washington State and Alaska (USA) Clam gardens are made by constructing rock walls at the low tide line along the edges of bays and inlets, transforming naturally sloping beaches or rocky shorelines into productive, level beach terraces. Image: Google Earth – Text: The Clam Garden Network Clam gardens are ancient intertidal features constructed by coastal First Nations of British Columbia (Canada) and Native Americans of Washington State and Alaska (USA). The Clam Garden Network is a diverse community of Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge holders including academics, community members, researchers, and resource managers from British Columbia, Washington State, and Alaska. Together, we celebrate, promote, and seek to uphold the cultural and ecological importance of clam gardens and traditional seafood management. Context Clam gardens enhance the production of culturally important seafoods and have been a part of Indigenous food systems for at least 4,000 years. Today, Indigenous Peoples throughout the Pacific Northwest are reclaiming clam garden construction, management, and related cultural practices to enhance food security and sovereignty, support and assert rights and title in coastal and ocean spaces, and revive ancestral teachings and practices. Clam gardens and other culturally important beaches have a legacy as places of learning. While out on the shoreline together, elders, youth, and other community members reflect on teachings, observations and stories about marine systems, cultural values, cosmology, economics, and the importance of family. Method The Clam Garden Network embraces different ways of knowing, shares ideas, and uses various research approaches, tools, and data to build knowledge about people and intertidal resources. We celebrate, promote and uphold clam gardens because they are a focal point to advance Indigenous rights and governance, intergenerational knowledge, and food security in the face of climate change. Benefits Our goals are to: build solidarity and cooperation across people, communities and disciplines; support clam garden restoration; stimulate conversation and learning that challenge predominantly Western ways of doing science and resource management; and work in ways that respect Indigenous community selfdetermination and resurgence. Nicole Smith, independent archaeologist, Victoria, B.C, and Jennifer Silver, University of GuelphThis text has first been published by BRIDGES in a special brochure. BRIDGES in a member of The Earth-Humanity Coalition. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER To stay up to date with our projects and the development of the EHC Read more articles

Even before the beginning of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development, the World Academy of Art and Science adopted a program of sciences for sustainable development. The World Academy of Art and Science organizes a series of webinars under the title WAAS Talks The EHC-WAAS Program includes two series of webinars, six conferences, a number of articles and reports, and four platforms in science and technology for cooperation between the Global North and the Global South. Its implementation is based on a transdisciplinary science model. Webinars The first series of webinars within the EHC-WAAS Program started in June 2023 and two events were held by the end of 2023. In 2024, three additional webinars within this series have been held: WAAS Talks on Science for Human Security: Natural Geoengineering Methods for Cooling the Planet, on February 28, 2024; WAAS Talks on Science for Human Security: Artificial Intelligence, on October 17, 2024; WAAS Talks on Science for Human Security: Measuring Sustainability, on December 4, 2024. The series will be continued with the webinars focused on: Big Science with Accelerators; Nanomaterials; Climate Change; Critical Zone Science; Fission Nuclear Energy; Fusion Nuclear Energy; Radiation Therapy; Multilateralism; Multiculturalism; Well-Being Economy; Doughnut Economics; Sustainable Cities; Cultural Architecture. Conferences Three conferences are already planned. The World Conference on Sustainable Cities, to be held on June 26–27, 2025 in Athens, Greece. The primary objectives of the event are: to discuss the importance of urban sustainability and the concept of sustainable cities; to highlight the current financing gaps in the transition to sustainable cities; to explore the innovative financing mechanisms and strategies to bridge these gaps; to share the relevant best successful case studies and practices in the field from around the world; to facilitate dialogues among the interested stakeholders, including researchers, urban planners, community leaders, policy-makers, and investors. The target audience of the event comprises these stakeholders as well as governments and international institutions involved in solving the environment and sustainability problems. A result of the Conference should be the Athens Declaration on Sustainable Cities. The World Conference on Science and Art for Sustainability, to be held on September 22–25, 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia. The objectives of the event are: to listen to the distinguished speakers; to induce fruitful interactions among them; to deduce from all that some conclusions on sustainable, secure, and peaceful development to be presented to various policy-makers and other science and art stakeholders at the local, national, regional, and global scales. A result of the Conference should be the Belgrade Declaration on Science and Art for Sustainability, Security, and Peace. The World Conference on Big Science with Accelerators: Basic Sciences and High Technologies, to be organized in the second quarter of 2026 or 2027 in Beijing, China, by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The speakers at the event would come from large global, regional, and national scientific and educational organizations operating in the fields of science with charged particle accelerators and accelerator technologies. The event would include a section on education in these fields, and a large industrial exhibition involving companies from all around the world experienced in development and application of accelerator technologies. All future events will be announced here. Nebojša Nešković, Vice President for Science and Technology, World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS); Full Member, The Club of Rome; Member, Steering Committee, The Earth-Humanity Coalition SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER To stay up to date with our projects and the development of the EHC Read more articles

Food systems transformations in South America: insights from a transdisciplinary process rooted in Uruguay Cover of the final report of the “Knowledge on the table” research Between 2019-21, the South American Resilience and Sustainability Studies Institute (SARAS) in Uruguay, gathered a transdisciplinary international community of natural and social scientists, humanities scholars, artists and multiple stakeholders to codesign food systems transformation. Saberes sobre la mesa (knowledge on the table) engaged Uruguayan policymakers, government officials, food producers, the service sector (chefs), soup kitchens, other civil organizations, and consumers. Context Latin America is the largest net food exporting region in the world. The continent’s food systems significantly contribute to global climate change and are at the core of many crucial global issues such as food security, nutrition, endemic poverty, land use change, loss of biological and cultural diversity and national identities. Uruguay shares many of the socialecological challenges and risks that are characteristic of the larger region. Method The project organised transdisciplinary working groups to represent and reflect on the prominent problems in the region: fisheries, the farming export industry, and the emergence of agroecology. It then developed nine projects. Four transdisciplinary projects focused on bottom-up processes of innovation in the sustainable production, distribution and/or consumption of food. Four interdisciplinary projects which targeted decision makers, researchers and scholars. Each communicated information on the social-ecological footprints of Uruguay’s global trade flow of food, and on the feasibility of circular economy. The last project was a book on the history of local recipes and the place of local food culture in national identity. Benefit Saberes sobre la mesa built a collaborative network comprised of academics, several ministries and municipal governments, the media, agricultural producers’ organisations, and civil society groups to produce the knowledge necessary to help address the significant challenges in Uruguay listed above. The final report of this project can be downloaded from the Zenodo virtual repository platform. Jorge Marcone, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Chair of Advisory Board of SARAS This text has first been published by BRIDGES in a special brochure. BRIDGES in a member of The Earth-Humanity Coalition. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER To stay up to date with our projects and the development of the EHC Read more articles