Copenhagen

Eco- Island Amager, under Sharing Copenhagen

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

Cultura21 Nordic proposes the project Eco-Island Amager, under the auspices ofSharing Copenhagen – Copenhagen as European Green Capital in 2014 .

The 96 sq. km island of Amager is a polyvalent space imbued with ever-shifting meanings. It is also a part of Copenhagen, which could become a centre for culturally driven and sustainability-motivated change in an urban environment. Our vision is that, by observing the actual life of the island/city, with locally active agents of change, by mapping and conceptualizing potentials for a new identity, we can visualize paths and trigger points inviting Amager to creating a new life for itself, as an Eco-Island in a green city.

What is an eco-island? This is a question which Eco-Island Amager sets out to answer in Cultura21’s spirit of collaborative, creative and community-oriented interventions. The aim is that the project will give way to new learning, and to translate new insights into a number of specific innovative, transdisciplinary projects. All along the project, we will build on practice-derived knowledge and seek to develop new practices through creative reflection.

The project is divided into three stages, unfolding gradually from April to October, and is part of the official programme of Sharing Copenhagen .

The first step was a ‘mapping visions’ workshop, which took place on the24th-25th of April, in the beautiful Dome of Visions. This stage was dedicated to sketching the contours of the (intertwined, natural, social, economic, and cultural) eco-systems found on the island. The workshop has drawn on the varied experiences and knowledge of the diverse local actors, stake-holders of the island, and mapping experts, focusing on finding possible interactions and connections in and between the selected 9 zones of the project on Amager.

The second stage of our intervention consists of exploring the 9 transectsidentified in the mapping process. Each transect will last a day, with the 9 walks stretching from June to September 2014. The transect is a field-based method of investigation, grounded in the texture of the selected areas, which are approached on foot. The exploration of the transects will also be transdisciplinary events, learning from the knowledge and capacities of participants (as anthropologists, local citizens, artists, ecologists, entrepreneurs, etc). The explorations have as starting point the level of local realities. Therefore, each one will focus on some issues more than others: re-conceptualisation of a commercial street and main traffic ore(Amagerbrogade); refurbishment of post-industrial areas (Refshaleøen);interactions between population and nature in a new urban natural park(Naturpark Amager); crossing over of urban and natural life in a new residential area (Ørestad), and more. All transects will be open to the public, and all will include reflective symposiums, inviting also international action-researchers, scholars, artists – and Cultura21’s network and readers – to participate. A call will be issued within the next days.

Finally, building on the knowledge gathered during the first two stages, the project will end with the Eco-Creative Eco Island Camp, taking place onOctober 31st and November 1st, in an 18th century building by the sea, next to what used to be the active fishing harbour of Kastrup. The summit will be a creative encounter between stakeholders, a productive reflection on the Eco-Island Amager project, but also a starting point for developing projects strengthening the impact of Eco Island Amager in the future, an international hotspot for discussing urban mapping for sustainability, and a presentation and sharing of the prototype version of the Eco Island Amager Atlas. This event will also be in the call for participation. The nine concrete project proposals having originated in the mappings, transects and subsequent reflections, will be gaining shape and we hope these to be the first steps towards a new life for Amager as an Eco Island. Furthermore, by addressing the local issues in Amager, we invite to rethinking global issues and wish to spread the methods and the findings to all parts of the world where they would resonate.

Read more about the project here , and find our call for participation which is to be issued shortly.
Contact Oleg Koefoed (oleg [at] cultura21 [dot] dk) or Stine Avlund (stine [at] cultura21 [dot] dk), of Cultura21 in Copenhagen , for details or to inquire about potential collaboration.

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Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)

– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)

– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)

– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

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Conference about efficient, liveable and sustainable cities

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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures

Today cities consume an estimated 75 percent of the world’s energy, and emit more than 80 percent of greenhouse gases. By the year 2050 approximately 75 percent of the world’s population are expected to be residing in megacities. With an estimated increase of the global population to nine billion, the future cities of the world face great challenges.

future-cities-konf2013

This is the focus of a ‘Future Cities’ conference to be held at the Danish parliament in Copenhagen on 7 November 2013 at 12am–5pm. The conference will cover topics such as the green cities of Europe, the intelligent energy-grid and megacities future use of big data as smart cities.

One of the speakers is Claus Bjørn Billehøj who works for the City of Copenhagen to insure sustainable, green growth and realise Copenhagen’s ambition of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025.

The conference is free and open, but registration is mandatory due to security requirements. It is organised by The International Committee of Radikale Venstre.

» More information: futurecities2013.dk

Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.

The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.

Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people’s eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector’s stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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UN COP17 Climate Negotiations kick off in Durban

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The 17th UN negotiations to try and limit the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions and potentially catastrophic climate change began on 28th November, in Durban South Africa. Since the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force in 1995, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC have been meeting annually to assess progress in dealing with climate change.

With the slogan “Working Together; Saving Tomorrow Today”, it seems as though there is plenty of optimism and a will to achieve. However, recent COP meetings, in Copenhagen and Cancun, were felt by some to have failed to deliver lasting commitments from countries to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions.

Here’s an update from the UKYCC delegation in Durban on Monday 5 December:

“It’s the first day of the second week and the pressure’s started to build. This is the make or break week for the negotiations and I’ll be  honest – I’m afraid it’s going to be break time. There are some really important issues on the table – the one a lot of people are talking

about is the Kyoto Protocol. It’s the only legally binding treaty we have to reduce carbon emissions but it runs out in 2012. If we want to have emissions reduction targets (which we do), then we need action now.  The KP (as it’s called) only applies to developed countries. The US never signed up to it (they just don’t like playing fair or acknowledging that they’re part of the world) and now Canada is actively trying to kill it so it can sell highly polluting tar sand oil to every other country in the world for maximum profits. Japan and Russia are being lame too.

It’s not often I’m proud to be British but the EU, and the UK within it, are doing their best to keep it alive – I’m 100% of the way behind them. Say it loud and say it proud: ‘I heart KP!

Other important issues are having a broader mandate for a universal treaty that will cover both developed and developing countries come out of Durban. That, and money. Always with the money! But the UNFCCC want to create a Green Climate Fund to manage the money that will support mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The big question is, who’s going to take care of the money and where’s it going to come from?

For a more in-depth insight, check out the second UKYCC hand puppet video. If talking hands can’t explain what’s going on, nothing can!”

Websites to keep up to date with progress of the talks:

  • http://adoptanegotiator.org/ – A blogging platform which tracks the progress of the negotiations day by day
  • un.ukycc.org – the website of the UK Youth Climate Coalition, who have a delegation at the conference
  • http://www.cop17-cmp7durban.com/index.html – the main website of the conference; useful for full background information.

Go to Arcola Energy

Interactive Futures (IF) in Vancouver: Animal Influence

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

Vancouver, BC
17th to 19th of November 2011

From the 17th  until the 19th of  November 2011 you are able to visit the conference „Interactive Futures (IF)“ in Vancouver, BC. The conference includes exhibitions, performances and screenings as well as a workshop with well-known speakers like the ethologist Marc Bekoff and new media artist Lisa Jevbratt. The theme of the conference is „Animal Influence“, as research referring to animal behavior, cognition, creativity and consciousness increased in the recent years and brought forth the idea of animals having emotional and cognitive lives. The focus is put on the research results on animal-human relations and how they effect new media artists in their perception and work with other species, and new ways of dealing with the new knowledge in form of for example experimental art. There will be exhibitions of interactive and new media art works which arose from the artists’ involvement in these themes.
The workshop within the frame of the conference will bring together media artists, scientists and critics as well as philosophers, who can discuss these topics further and bring about new ideas and inspiration.

For a detailed schedule of and registration for the conference,  visit the website: http://www.interactivefutures.ca/

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura21 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21

Go to Cultura21

Vol. 3 in the Cultura21 eBooks Series on Culture and Sustainability

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This post comes to you from Cultura21

The Cultura21 eBooks Series on Culture and Sustainability presents findings from inter- and trans-disciplinary perspectives in research and practice. The eBooks are published openly online by Cultura21 Institut e.V. in order to support broad dissemination and to stimulate further debates in civil society and further action-research in the field.

The city today is increasingly conceptualized using terms such as ‘creative cities’ or ‘creative class’, stressing the importance of culture. The effects this can have on cities and neighbourhoods has been criticised from the wider field of sociology.  This critique can be examined and placed in the context of the analysis of a culture of unsustainability, in order to identify how the concept of creative cities may bring about unsustainable tendencies. Building on this, a re-conceptualization of creative cities, based on an understanding of the role of the artist in cultures of sustainability is possible. Rethinking terms such as creativity can help form possible frameworks, which support sustainable creative cities.

Julia Hahn (1981) studied Applied Cultural Sciences (2003 – 2010) at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg.

Vol. 3: Julia Hahn: Creative Cities and (Un)Sustainability – Cultural Perspectives (PDF download)

Cultura21 is a transversal, translocal network, constituted of an international level grounded in several Cultura21 organizations around the world.

Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

Cultura211 is not only an informal network. Its strength and vitality relies upon the activities of several organizations around the world which are sharing the vision and mission of Cultura21
Go to Cultura21

Arcola Intern goes to climate negoitations in Cancun #COP16

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After the disappointing outcome of Copenhagen last December the next climate change negotiations have started to  take place in Cancun, Mexico.

Arcola intern, Anthony Ford-Shubrook has been chosen as one of a group of eight to represent UK youth at the UN conference. He will be part of the UKYCC (UK Youth Climate Coalition) delegation, to campaign for politicians to sign up to real emissions cuts and cap temperature rises before it’s too late. There’s a lot of scaremongering and even scepticism around about climate change but when a recent study shows that 98% of climate scientists that publish research on the subject support the view that human activities are warming the planet and that this warming will lead to catastrophic events such as floods, droughts and violent storms across the world he feels we have to do something. Anthony says, “I’m going to go and take part in the movement trying to call for something to be done. If we act now to cut emissions we really can make a difference.”

At the conference Anthony will be campaigning and sitting in on the negotiations each day.

Visit www.ukycc.org for more information on Anthony’s trip.

Go to Arcola Energy

First Day in Cancun, Pre-#COP16 debrief

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More soon, but a quick post at the very end of the day about how things are looking here in Cancun.

Today started out leisurely, we were on the shuttle to Cancun Messe around noon and got there in the early afternoon. The roadways are lined with police in a number of forms, but most foreboding is the Federal Police with their large automatic weapons.

There is less of a mass outside this initial meting place than the Bella Center, and it is just a stop over to most of the other sessions at the Moon Palace resort. Both locations are remote. The only reasonable transportation is the semi-hourly shuttles for various spots in the surrounding area.

With no lack of trying to be helpful, a staffer directing buses attempted to put us closer to the small town, where we could pick up the shuttle to this year’s Klimaforum. It instead put us at an equally remote resort from which we took a cab. Originally we were going to take the taxi from the resort to the shuttle stop, but I opted in for the full ride.

We arrived at the Kilmaforum hopeful, it was fairly well signed up to the gate, but once in it was a slow downhill. We traveled into the back of the El Rey Polo Club and found a hand drawn “Registro aquí”. The table to which it referred was staffer by temporary relief for the women who had been there. They assumed we would want to camp there, but we just were there to visit. We were also informed the shuttle wasn’t running on any schedule, just when people want to go and there was critical mass (10 people). We asked about getting the shuttle from the shuttle stops to here, they were puzzled.

Whereas the Klimaforum in Copenhagen for COP15 was the conference for everyone else that wasn’t in the Bella Center, this did not follow in it’s footsteps. Closer to the Climate Bottom Meeting in Christianshavn, even with tents for meeting spaces, it was more of a temporary commune than a conference. They had faster Wireless than our hotel, but were otherwise unprepared for visitors. We were directed to a press person who didn’t speak english, which is fine, it’s Mexico, where spanish is spoken, but we had made it clear to someone from an english speaking country (USA or Canada) that our spanish was minimal. So we hung out waiting for some film we were told was going to be shown at 5:00pm, then 5:30pm, but it never happened.

I’m pretty sure we overheard some people involved with the film talk about how this set-up wasn’t what they expected. They expected the meican sequel to the 2009 Kilmaforum, as had I. The response they got was: “Hey, we’re volunteers, we’ve been trying to get this together since Friday, we’re trying to do something different, this isn’t like every other conference you could get anywhere.”

After a guy who had hitchhiked from the Netherlands came to talk to us, since we’re press, we tried to leave. We asked about the shuttle and were told, that it’s only $1o pesos/person if there were 10 people in the shuttle, since that’s how much it costs to make the run. Since it was just us 2, it would be $50 pesos/person… just to leave we did it. The most comfortingly reliable and convenient transport of the day was the bus we took back to cancun.

A few things:

  • If you say the conference is from the 26th of a month, but don’t intend to have public until the 29th, just say it starts on the 29th.
  • If you tell someone that you’re going to show a film at 5pm, show a film at 5pm or make an announcement.
  • If you say you’re open and you’re running a shuttle, run the shuttle  and put it where people, thinking you’ve started, will expect to find it.
  • Also 2 shuttle vans for 10 people each running each journey for what you think is going to be even just hundreds of people is not enough.
  • Be upfront about how your systems work, and commit to it, even if it’s not going to be the best thing in one particular way.
  • If you’re going to do the communal living, camping in the woods, contemporary hippie thing… please be aware that it isn’t the most inclusive way to do things. You may be all friendly and want to love everyone warmly, but not everyone is bought into an extreme lifestyle like that, but they still might care about the climate.

We made it back to our hotel, even more so an oasis after the frustrations of the day, and set about dinner. We wandered nearby to the central square, which reminded me of home around area like Echo Park and McArthur Park. We had some food and wandered to the UNESCO photo exhibit on disappearing climates. Not unlike some of the photo exhibits in the public squares of Copenhagen. It was the first real, accessible, publicly engaged  moment of the day.

Tomorrow should prove to be better, I’m spending the day at the Villa de Cambio Climático, while Moe heads to the opening plenary. HOpefully more to report tomorrow, when the real fun begins!

NEW LIFE CANCUN Call for Proposals

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Call for Proposals

Artists working with interventions, activism and other participatory practices are invited to apply for participation in NEW LIFE CANCUN. This experimental hospitality project will take place during the UN Climate Change summit (COP 16) in Canc̼n, Mexico from 29 Nov Р10 Dec 2010.

In continuation of Wooloo’s NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN festival – in which we secured housing for more than 3.000 activists coming to the Copenhagen summit – NEW LIFE CANCUN is aiming to connect visiting activists and NGO employees with local families in the area of Cancún, infamous for its vulnerability to climate disasters (mainly hurricanes), as well as for the high-CO2 emissions associated with its tourism sector.

Utilising this meeting of hosts and guests in Cancun as our exhibition platform, artists and activists are invited to explore its social architecture and suggest work proposals of an awareness, educational and/or practical-action nature designed around the topic: “NEW WAYS OF LIVING TOGETHER”.

Up to five artists will be selected for participation and will get all travel, accommodation and production costs covered by Wooloo. Proposals must include a detailed budget. As fundraising efforts are still ongoing, we do not yet know the size of our final production budget. However, it wont be large – so please be aware that your project must be able to be realized in a low-budget manner!

The deadline for work proposals is Thu 1 August 2010.

Please direct all research questions to contact[at]wooloo.org

NEW LIFE is an ongoing series of works focusing on social and artistic experimentation. Staged by Wooloo and taking place in institutions and public spaces worldwide, NEW LIFE aims to be a test field for new ways of living together on our planet.

NEW LIFE CANCUN is a collaboration between Wooloo.org and the Mexican climate change collective Carbonding.

via ==criticalnetwork== NEW LIFE CANCUN.

Institute of Contemporary Arts : Talks : The Climate for Theatre

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8 July 2010 –  £5 / £4 ICA Members plus + £1.20 booking fee per ticket in advance

As theatre makers struggle to create the iconic work about climate change, should they borrow the models of local activism practiced by the anti-globalisation movement? Can theatre that inspires change by virtue of its rootedness in real life concerns also connect and inspire on an international stage? Chaired by Chris Smith, previously secretary of State for Culture and now chairman of the Environment Agency, and with speakers including John Jordan, artist and activist and author of We Are Everywhere, this debate examines theatre makers’ attitudes to environmental concerns. Why, unlike AIDS, the conflict between Israel and Palestine or even the global financial crisis, has climate change not inspired a potentially attitude-shifting piece of theatre? Films and literature have tackled the subject through fiction and polemic; where is the theatrical equivalent?

But is there actually a need for a catalyst, a great inspirational moment, or should we just continue at a local level, building from the grassroots up and up? As climate change activists deal with the failure of the Copenhagen talks last year, there is a move away from global mobilisation towards specific and local targets such as particular fossil-fuel power plants or mines, focusing more on local grassroots campaigns, “to start from the bottom” as the Rising Tide spokesman puts it. Should theatre makers take a leaf from the activists’ book and think local? As a subject that touches the daily business of life, is it more appropriate that theatre that addresses climate change and the need for action should itself be created in a local and practical context, intimately connected to its audience or participants’ daily life?

Held in association with Artsadmin, This is the third of four LIFT Debates that form part of LIFT Club at the ICA. These debates aim to explore our new relationship with theatre in the company of international theatre makers, critics and commentators.

Special Offer

Buying a ticket for this event and for the ICA featured LIFT performances at the same time – Revolution Now, Best Before, FML or Oxygen – entitles the purchaser to a discounted ICA Members price on their chosen performance. Call the ICA Box Office for details.

via Institute of Contemporary Arts : Talks : The Climate for Theatre.

WOOLOO.ORG – NEW LIFE CANCÚN

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Artists working with interventions, activism and other participatory practices are invited to apply for participation in NEW LIFE CANCUN.

This experimental hospitality initiative intends to promote and facilitate participation during the UN Climate Change summit (COP 16) in Cancún, Mexico at the end of 2010 (Nov. 29th – Dec. 10th).

In continuation of Wooloo’s NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN festival – in which we secured housing for more than 3.000 activists during the Copenhagen summit – NEW LIFE CANCUN is aiming to connect visiting activists and NGO employees with local families in the area of Cancún.An area infamous for its vulnerability to climate disasters (mainly hurricanes), as well as for the high-CO2 emissions associated with its tourism sector.

Utilizing this meeting of hosts and guests in Cancun as our exhibition platform, artists and activists are invited to explore its social architecture and suggest work proposals of an awareness, educational and/or practical-action nature designed around the topic: “NEW WAYS OF LIVING TOGETHER”.

The deadline for work proposals is JULY 1st, 2010.

Please direct all research questions to contact@wooloo.org

Proposals must include a detailed budget. As fundraising efforts are still ongoing, we do not yet know the size of our final production budget. However, it wont be large – so please be aware that your project must be able to be realized in a low-budget manner!

NEW LIFE CANCUN is a collaboration between Wooloo.org and the Mexican climate change collective Carbonding

Image credit: Stephanie Claverie

via WOOLOO.ORG – NEW LIFE CANCÚN.