2021 Learning Exchange
"Hands" by Georg Engeli, 2021
Culture and/as Sustainability: Overview
by Ameer Shaheed, Learning Exchange team member
Background
IMPACT, a global network strengthening the field of Arts, Culture, and Conflict Transformation (ACCT) has been organizing Learning Exchanges (LEs) since 2018. These consist of online conversations taking place across the worldwide ACCT ecosystem, connecting and fostering exchanges. This year’s discussion took place on the 2nd and 4th of November 2021. The theme was “Culture and Sustainability,” and invited participants to explore culture not as a mere addition to or a separate dimension of sustainability, but as “a necessary foundation for meeting the overall aims of sustainability.”(Soini and Dessein 2016)[1] The premise was that we are living in a time beset by systemic challenges affecting humanity and the planet; these challenges are linked to a dominant global culture that is inherently unsustainable. The changes we need require major transitions that comprise a paradigm shift away from the dominant, underlying ‘culture of unsustainability’ to a ‘culture of sustainability.’
Alongside the core IMPACT team, a number of co-conveners helped organize and facilitate the conversation. This included Hans Dieleman, Vikram Iyengar, Mike Van Graan, the Community Arts Network, +Peace, and the European Youth Parliament for Water.
The event took place on Platform4Dialogue. To increase inclusiveness and coverage, two separate conversations were held around the same topics, one in Spanish and the other in English. Overall, 213 participants joined the Spanish language discussion, sharing 466 comments. The English language platform saw 219 participants in total, generating 557 comments. Participants registered from over 70 countries and had a wide range of affiliations, from grassroots organizations working in the ACCT field, individual artists and consultants, to academics working in the sustainability and/or ACCT fields, members of institutions involved in sustainability and international development, and organizations involved in funding or promoting cultural initiatives.
The discussion was organized into four different topics, each one taking place on a different discussion board. Topic 1 was entitled “A Paradigm Shift.” It invited participants to discuss whether they see a new paradigm coming into being today, following the last major shift, which was linked to the philosophical, scientific, and industrial revolutions that created the modern era. Participants could explore what the new paradigm consists of, how these transformations play out in their communities, and the role of culture. Topic 2 delved further into the transitions that are taking place today to form a new zeitgeist, focusing on the obstacles, challenges, paradoxes and polarities that are apparent in such transitions. Topic 3 explored the emerging understandings, approaches, and visions of the future that are brought to bear in this transition. Topic 4 aimed to discuss actions, present and future, that speak to the role of culture and sustainability, while also making special mention of the youth as key players in the action for the future, and climate change as one of the preeminent issues of sustainability. All of the topics invited participants to underline the role of the ACCT sectors in addressing these issues.
The conversation
The conversations followed an organic path across the four topics, inspired by the introductions and questions set forth in each discussion board, and saw the emergence of several key points. Below is a selection of key points that came across to the author after several readings of the English language discussion boards. They were shared with the core IMPACT team, who concurred with them while noting that additional points were to be found. Forthcoming work emerging from the LE will seek to do better justice to the richness of the conversation.
The role of the arts and cultural sectors in creating a culture of sustainability
Engaging with and in the arts invites different forms of paying attention and modes of knowing than we are accustomed to in everyday life, considering both our inner and outer worlds. This may be an important feature of the paradigm shift that is needed, as a major feature of dominant modern thinking and problem-solving is an overemphasis on rational reasoning, with its dualistic way of framing issues, materialistic outlook, and problem-solving processes that rely on reductionism. Several participants addressed roles that the ACCT ecosystem can play in addressing the changes needed for a more sustainable, equitable and balanced future.
- Providing an essential counterbalance to the current era’s dominant ways of understanding, attending to, and working in the world.
- Inviting other ways of connecting to issues such as climate change, beyond rational reasoning, and including the importance of connecting to these issues with our hearts and emotions.
- Nurturing the imagination, helping us come up with creative and sustainable solutions,
- Using the imaginative ability to dream of new possibilities, and depict the future we want in an emotionally compelling way. On the other hand, it is also important to depict the present and future we must avoid, and to do so in a manner that resonates with us in a deeper way than disembodied facts do.
-- There was critique of mainstream modern capitalism, the dominant philosophies that uphold it (overemphasizing rational reasoning, dualistic Cartesian thinking, categorical “things” as opposed to “processes,” Western-focused perspectives, etc.), and the major social, psychological and environmental discontents related to this approach.
-- Participants explored whether a culture of sustainability could be born within the current dominant system, or required openly working outside of it. A range of views were shared along this spectrum, from working completely outside in a radical way and supporting more radical grassroots changes, to sustainability initiatives operating from within. The conversation also addressed how the arts and culture sectors should live in accordance with the change that they want to see in the world by implementing reforms in their own institutions.
-- People identified several areas that needed greater emphasis in society, and which could contribute to the culture of sustainability we seek. These included:
- A greater connection to the Earth and Nature, including ecological principles.
- More emphasis on interdependence and interconnectedness between the individual and society, between systems, between the human world and the rest of Nature.
- Listening deeply, particularly to views that are different from one’s own.
- Integrating traditional and Indigenous knowledge, perspectives and culture into the emerging culture of sustainability. Aspects of traditional cultures from all over the world can be important sources of wisdom, while being mindful to avoid the errors of movements that glorify the past in a divisive manner, such as those seen in right wing conservative circles. Participants underlined the wisdom in Indigenous cultures from across the world and how they naturally espoused sustainability and interdependence. One key aspect was their relationship to Nature with its greater ecological awareness and respect along with sustainable approaches to consumption and production. The other aspect was philosophical traits that differ from Cartesian dualism, focusing more on relationality (one participant mentioned Included Third Logic), which do not focus as much on opposites and separations and allow for more complex pictures of the truth (which may seem paradoxical when viewed through a purely logical lens).
- A greater role for the youth and education.
- One of the major ways to change cultures is working with the younger generations, both within and outside of the formal education system. Participants underlined the importance of education that gave more space to the arts and culture, and other non-traditional approaches that provide a more holistic way of addressing and relating to sustainability.
- Feedback from younger people in the conversation underlined the feelings of frustration they felt towards the older generation’s approach to the climate crisis, ranging from outright denial and exacerbation to over-cautious, reluctant, and unenergetic responses.
- A greater role for the elderly, including the bridge between the elderly and the young, and the integration of the collective wisdom in this group. This is particularly important in light of demographic shifts in higher income nations with growing elderly populations that are mostly sidelined and isolated from the rest of society.
- Integrating the previous points on the importance of connecting to issues with the heart and the mind, combining rational reasoning with other modes of awareness and creative thinking.
Going forward
Several participants noted the importance of spaces and initiatives that empower connection, conversation and multisectoral collaboration in the space integrating ACCT with other sustainability initiatives (including science, education, politics, etc). Activities such as the LE were seen as positive steps in this direction.
Participants highlighted several existing initiatives, including their own projects. Many voiced an interest in connecting after the LE and potentially collaborating in the future. Those identified in the English language LE can be found listed here.
All told, the LE successfully brought together people from across the globe into conversation. IMPACT, their co-conveners and partners will take stock of their findings, and carefully consider how to build upon this year’s LE and the follow-up activities that could take place.
Selection of quotes from the English language LE:
The role of the arts and culture sectors
I'm thinking that many different forms -- poetic works, visual works, musical works (perhaps especially those that operate without language) -- are resources for us to practice the "muscle" of imagining new worlds. This is how human creativity works, right? First we make things up, and then we make them real. (Cynthia Cohen)
[Sometimes] the arts can continue operating within and [perpetuating] the system [they are] criticizing...I wonder about what the arts may need to sacrifice in order to truly be in alignment with the culture of sustainability that some [art] aspires to evoke. ( Emily Forsythe Queen)
We've touched on the possibilities of art-making (not only of an imagined future but also to bring into focus the bitter reality we are facing now); and also on education, the economy, and reimagining the relationships between humans and the natural world. (Cynthia Cohen)
Critique of the current culture and the changes that are needed for a more sustainable culture:
I think…a lot of the problems we are facing come from the way humans are conditioned to think: our brain/mind divides things into categories, where one thing is opposed to the next. This is Hegelian/Platonic (etc.) dialectic logic. So 2 things are opposed to each other (e.g. better/worse, yes/no, black/white, good/bad, subject/object, etc.) rather than existing in parity. The way to make change is to upturn how we think, and lay out a flat plane of immanence (df. Deleuze and Guattari, French philosophers), where everything exists on the same level - a proliferation of difference…The only way I have found to initiate this change is through the aesthetic experience, i.e. engaging with art. When we make art, or engage with art, we have the subject (ourselves) and the object (the art) - and the dichotomy/opposition dissolves in the pure sensuous experience of interacting and being with art. (Lorna Collins)
We must decrease our consumerism and learn to live with less. We almost must be less focused on individual rights and more on collective rights. We need to clearly connect rights to responsibilities… There is no consideration for how one's actions affect others and what is one's responsibility as a member of society to others based on an unspoken social contract. Thus, there is a need for attitude/value shifts from the personal to the collective and an openness to recognize the other as a neighbor who needs to be considered. (Christine Vertucci)
Living a zero waste lifestyle; giving up cars; organizing for renewable energy use in our communities; giving up (or radically reducing) flying; planting butterfly gardens; planting native species; planting trees. (Monica Raymond)
While we have the reputation as the most politically active generation, I believe that this is because we are the most desperate. I wish I saw as many adults my parents/grandparents’ age advocating for a sustainable future, but the truth is that their future isn’t at stake. It’s discouraging to see older people care so little about an issue that affects our livelihood. (Lily Lawrence)
Going beyond the conceptualisation of art as just communication, and instead creating transdisciplinary linkages in the curriculum, with a focus on involvement 'in', 'with' and 'through' arts. This may involve including art 'in' the climate change curriculum, teaching art 'with' other disciplinary concepts, and teaching 'through ' art (using participatory methods). (Juliet Oduor)
Besides taking into account the privileges of time, resources, and access, we should factor in power relationships, racism, classism, and cultural shame. Sometimes even well intentioned interventions can reinforce structural violence and silence local forms of admiring "the beauty of the world". That said, I totally agree that art and culture are keystones to build a world in which many worlds coexist as the Zapatistas put it. (Thor Morales)
How to imagine the future from within the present moment, and what actions can help:
"How can we possibly imagine our future while embedded in our existing culture and narratives?" is a tough question to even begin to answer on our own as any answer will come from that culture or those narratives. It's why exchange and connection points like this are so deeply important. They allow us to imagine together. The answer lies for me somewhere in that process of exchange - we use that process of examining and understanding them to find ways forward (or backward - "progression" isn't always positive) - what do others think? What other solutions do others have? (Thom Louis)
[1] Soini K,Dessein J Culture-Sustainability Relation : Towards a Conceptual Framework. Sustainability 2016, 8(2), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020167
Read Carmen Olaechea’s Thoughts on Culture and Sustainability exploring paradigm shift, interdependence and the need for action for sustainability.
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Community Arts Network: Co-created by visionaries who believe that the transformative power of the arts can be used for social impact, CAN is a platform that aims to enable, engage and empower individuals, organizations and communities through arts and unlikely alliances to generate meaningful change and shape a humane future, together. To give a name to the challenges ahead, to use art as a force for change, to inspire and connect through the unexpected — that's why we exist.
Anis Barnat is a multi-cultural citizen of the world with experience and journeys in the private sector, public administration, private-public institutions. A social entrepreneur committed to a core life’s mission as co-founder of El Sistema Greece, Anis believes in community arts projects as a tool for social inclusion. Anis has worked at the French Embassy in the USA, Radio France, Sciences Po Paris, and at Askonas Holt representing orchestras and choirs from all over the world, developing in particular a close relationship with El Sistema in Venezuela. He is the managing director of the Community Arts Network.
Csaba Manyai: an Impact Designer and Curator who has spent the past two decades exploring how we can adapt to and succeed in our fundamentally changing environment and redesign our systems to fit our new challenges. (…) He has researched complex systems and value innovation and has used that knowledge to co-found TXD Impact Design Studio to help clients with designing breakthrough systemic innovations and impact strategies. (…) Since 2017 he has been working closely with Community Arts Lab (Porticus Foundation) and the Community Arts Network, as a Strategic Advisor and Impact Architect.
Pooja Pradeep is a 29 year old Engineer turned Educator based out of Bangalore, India. After a brief stint as a high school Physics & Math teacher, she now works extensively in the fields of conflict transformation, refugee and migrant empowerment and arts for social impact. Pooja is a few people at once - she is the Founder & Executive Director at Letters of Love , GATHER International Director at Seeds of Peace, Indian Representative at Beyond The Classrooms Education , Mentor with Netri Foundation and as of recent, heads Advocacy & Communications for Community Arts Network. She is a Tedx speaker and is a trained Human Rights Educator by the Commonwealth of Nations and Council of Europe. Her engagements with youth have found her at various capacities at schools, universities and organisations around the world. Pooja has been awarded the GATHER Fellowship in 2018, the Rex Karmaveer Global Fellowship and the Karmaveer Chakra Award in 2019. Aside from these, Pooja is an acclaimed dancer, a passionate writer, an avid traveller and a good friend.
Samar Bandak has joined the Community Arts Network in 2021 as a Global Relationship Manager. She worked for 10 years in the social field with displaced and marginalised populations at Caritas Jordan. She started her work journey with direct connection to people's stories on the ground. After few years she managed educational programs and co-developed a music program for displaced children. She was able to experience the power of arts in fostering resilience for children and their families. She had the opportunity to work from the funder's side too when she joined Porticus Foundation in 2017 as a Grant Manager for the MENA region and the Community Arts Lab. From grassroots to global, she has witnessed and experienced Arts' fundamental role not only in responding to human needs in humanitarian contexts, but also in the flourishment of the individual and the community geared towards a culture of sustainability.
Hans Dieleman : Dutch, he holds a Masters and PhD degree in sociology of knowledge from the Erasmus University Rotterdam. Full professor since 2007 in the College of Sciences and Humanities of the Autonomous University of Mexico City (UACM). His research focuses on change processes towards more sustainable societies. He has been doing research in industry, cities and in education (education for sustainability, art and transdisciplinarity as specific ways of knowing). His academic research themes are epistemology and hermeneutics (…) and emotional intelligence/embodied cognition. (…) He co-received two national Dutch distinctions for his work in Education for Sustainability and is co-receiver of a 2010 national Mexican distinction for the development of the Sustainability Plan for the Metropolitan University of Mexico City (UAM-Azcapotzalco). (…) The past 15 years, he has been working in particular on the development of the field of Art, Transdisciplinarity and Sustainability, a field that allows him to integrate several of the above-mentioned themes. He is co-founder and honorary member of the international NGO “Cultura21” specialized in ‘cultures and arts of sustainability’, an NGO with offices in Germany, Denmark, France and Mexico. He is a fellow of the Texas/USA based Association for Transdisciplinary Learning and Advanced Studies (The Atlas), a member of the European Sociological Association and of the Dutch Inter-university Research School SENSE for environmental and sustainability research.
Vikram Iyengar: is an arts leader and connector based in Calcutta, India, and working internationally. He is a dancer-choreographer-director, curator-presenter, and arts researcher-writer. Co-founder and artistic director of Ranan Performance Collective, he also initiated and leads the Pickle Factory Dance Foundation – a hub for dance and movement practice and discourse. His scope of work spans practice, discourse, critique, ideation and management, and revolves around the central tenet of creating deep connections with and through the arts. I believe that the arts are an inherent part of any society. They exist to open up imaginations about possible ways of being, living and seeing, and for creating a more empathetic, human, connected world. This is at the root of any work I undertake personally or with artists and arts organisations in India and abroad. Alongside, I also consistently reinvent my own relationship to the Indian classical form I have trained in – kathak. Experiences with artists from the contemporary dance and performance worlds in India and Europe have fundamentally changed me as an artist and sharpened a socio-political awareness, again asking me to connect my world with the world at large. (…) He regularly contributes articles and papers to various publications and international seminars, conducts a variety of workshops, and works on arts research projects for institutions in India and abroad. Empaneled with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and various other national bodies, he is a recipient of the Government of India National Scholarship and National Junior Fellowship for Dance.
Mike Van Graan: Mike van Graan is the President of the African Cultural Policy Network and an award-winning playwright with thirty-two plays under his belt. He is currently an artist-in-residence at the University of Pretoria where he was conferred with an honorary doctorate in 2018 in recognition of his cultural activism and creative work. After South Africa’s first democratic elections, he was appointed as a Special Adviser to the minister responsible for arts and culture, where he played an influential role in shaping post-apartheid cultural policies. He has served in leadership roles in anti-apartheid and post-apartheid cultural formations, as well as in Pan-African organizations like Arterial Network, promoting the creative sector and its contribution to human rights, democracy and development. He currently also serves as the interim secretariat for the nascent Global South Arts and Culture Initiative (GLOSACI). Van Graan’s recent work in the international arena includes facilitating the Academy for Young Festival Managers (a project of the European Festival Association), producing the Toolkit on Fairer International Cultural Collaboration with IETM, Dutch Culture and On-The-Move and collaborating with the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture on a cultural entrepreneurship programme in Beirut. He is the 2018 recipient of the Sweden-based Hiroshima Foundation for Peace and Culture Award in recognition of his contribution to the fight against apartheid, to building a post-apartheid society and to the interface of peace and culture both in South Africa and across the African continent.
+Peace is building a new peace movement that is intersectional, powerful and sustainable. It is a coalition of more than 40 leading peacebuilding organizations and institutions and a growing list of 21+ cities with the peace in their cities platform. +Peace is a campaign platform and movement incubator harnessing the power of cultural and narrative strategies in order to make peacebuilding known, accessible and actionable. A new peace movement is necessary, it is possible, and it is happening. together with peacebuilders, artists, cultural workers and current justice/ human rights movements, +peace harnesses cultural and narrative strategies to listen, collaborate and activate global collective action that builds peace so we can transform the most urgent issues of our time.
Aseel Zahran (she/her): responsible for pedagogy and research lead in +Peace, she is a peacebuilder by training and practice. She is dedicated to the pedagogy, research and applied practice of arts-based peacebuilding and embodied forms of knowledge and storytelling. Palestine is her home. Her family is one of the many Palestinian families that were displaced to Jordan during the 1948 nakba. You can find her drinking tea with friends deep in conversations about the next cultural breakthrough to build peace.
Monica Curca (she/her), narrative and cultural strategist Director at +Peace, is an artist, designer, cultural organizer, peacebuilder and facilitator. She is passionate about co-design and collective co-creation. She has dedicated her peacebuilding career to leveraging the power of narrative change and cultural strategies to create communities where everyone belongs. Monica was uprooted from her people and the land of Romania, she came to Los Angeles with her family as refugees when she was a child. She is now planting new seeds and watching them grow in Washington D.C. you can find her drawing on her iPad, deeply brainstorming about peace, transformation and cultural change, wildly gesticulating, laughing and talking… all at the same time.
Grieve-Carlson Jessye (she/her): program and communications associate at +Peace is a facilitator, educator, and artist committed to creating a more just and equitable world. She holds experience in the education and nonprofit sectors, specifically working in racial justice organizing, direct service for incarcerated individuals, and youth development.
The World Youth Parliament for Water is a network of passionate young people from over 80 countries. Its members take action on water issues at all levels; from concrete actions in local communities, to advocacy for youth leadership in the water sector at the United Nations General Assembly. It responds to the interests of youth, working together to prioritize water issues and create platforms for the expertise of youth to be recognized on these issues. The World Youth Parliament for Water supports youth-led water projects and works to see that youth have a valued and respected decision-making seat among senior water management officials. From the WYPW has been involved:
Stas Peters is the Vice-President of the European Youth Parliament for Water. The EYPW is an organisation that makes sure the voice of the future generation is heard in European water decision making and that its expertise and goals are used on continental, national and local level. In addition to this European Youth Parliament for Water also aids, advises and organises (youth led) water projects. Furthermore, Stas studies Deltamanagment at the University of Applied Sciences in Middelburg and has followed a side track in Disruptive Events: international disaster, migration and resilience. So it is safe to assume that his field of interest and expertise is the water sector.
IMPACT Learning Exchange Team
Ameer Shaheed is a researcher, project manager, and cultural actor. He combines a background in public health and international development with a lifelong passion for the arts. He is deeply intrigued by the role played by the arts and culture in the wider world, including how they can help address developmental, philosophical, and social concerns. His educational background is rooted in science, with a BSc in Biochemistry, an MSc in Environmental Engineering, and a PhD in Public Health (water, sanitation and hygiene). He grew up in the multicultural hub of Geneva, Switzerland, and has worked in 14 countries across Europe, Asia and Africa, primarily focusing on public health research and communications projects. He has maintained a keen interest in the arts, primarily as an event manager and musician. His events work spans different disciplines, including photography (e.g the African Photography Biennial in 2019) and music (e.g Bamako Jazz Festival 2019, Mali Afrobeat Festival 2018). He is now bridging his interests: working with the Geneva Water Hub on creative reflections around water and peace in the Sahel; writing articles for UNESCO’s Art-Lab on cultural responses to humanitarian challenges; and collaborating with IMPACT on various research topics.
Armine Avetisyan: As the Project Manager at IMPACT, among other responsibilities, she is involved in the coordination of the virtual learning exchanges and producing Peacebuilding and the Arts Now e-newsletter. Armine is a peacebuilding practitioner focusing on creative approaches in building peace. She has been involved in building trust and creating platforms for dialogue among diverse groups from Armenia and Turkey: local communities, artists, non-profits, local authorities and others to work together for building more just and peaceful societies. She co-directed the documentary "Haven't We Shared Much Salt and Bread?" where conflict transformation, food, gender perspective on building peace intersect. Armine holds an MA degree in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence from the Heller School at Brandeis University, and another MA degree in Cultural Management from Istanbul Bilgi University (Turkey).
Ana Cabria Mellace: lawyer, mediator and facilitator. Co-director of the Fundación Cambio Democrático in Argentina. She is also a consultant to the United Nations Development Program, where she has coordinated peace building programs, participated in the design and development of dialogue processes and the strengthening of a network of dialogue practitioners in the Latin American and Caribbean region she has been a member of the editorial team of the Democratic Dialogue Manual and has participated in the production of research and guides on the Dialogic Approach in the Transformation of Socio-Environmental Conflicts as well as in the evaluation of the Colombia-Ecuador Binational Dialogue. Also, for the United Nations and for FCD she has carried out case research on Environmental Governance for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and has participated as a specialist consultant for the Participation of Actors and Native Peoples in the framework of the development of various GEF projects. As a member of the FCD since 2010, she has coordinated projects and programs linked to social participation, dialogue and the transformation of conflicts in environmental issues and especially linked to the participation of indigenous peoples.
Carmen Olaechea has been working with the Latin American civil society for over 32 years, in NGOs, networks and in an international donor foundation. Her responsibilities have included: the design, development and supervision of projects and programs; knowledge and risk management and the promotion of networks. She has developed conceptual and strategic frameworks; led institutional change processes; designed and implemented collaborative learning architectures; evaluated local and international projects and managed risks at both operational and strategic levels. Her publications include two co-authored books on art and social transformation, and three children’s books. Carmen is chairwoman of Fundación Cambio Democrático, an NGO specialized in dialogue and conflict transformation, member of the advisory board of Crear Vale La Pena, a leading Latin-American NGO in the field of arts for social transformation and co-responsible for IMPACT Learning Exchanges. In addition, Carmen offers in Argentina, Spain, and Latin-American countries workshops on art and social transformation, sustainability and how to respond to a paradigm shift. Also works as an independent advisor to individuals, social, and business leaders and their organizations, helping them integrate new perspectives in their thinking and action. As an expert in sustainability, she accompanies individuals, organizations and schools in the development of programs for their transformation processes towards sustainability.
Cynthia Cohen is Director of the Program in peacebuilding and the Arts at the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life at Brandeis University, and IMPACT: Imagining Together: Platform for Arts, Culture and Conflict Transformation Leadership Circle member. At Brandeis, she initiated an undergraduate minor in Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation. Cindy has written extensively on the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of conflict transformation, including the chapters “Engaging with the Arts to Promote Coexistence” and “Creative Approaches to Reconciliation.” She co-edited and co-authored Acting Together: Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict, a two-volume anthology accompanied by a documentary film and a toolkit of educational and training materials. She holds a PhD in Education from the University of New Hampshire, a Master’s in Urban Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a BA in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University.
Ellada Evangelou was born and raised in Cyprus. She has studied in Cyprus and the United States and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for graduate study in the United States. She has worked as a dramaturg, theater director, workshop facilitator, and independent consultant, in collaboration with theater companies, NGOs, and international organisations, including UNDP and the Anna Lindh Foundation. She teaches theater and dramaturgy courses in higher education in Cyprus and the United States. She is interested in the relationship between theater/dramaturgy and identity, and works in the intersection of aRtivism and scholarship in post-colonial, post-conflict communities. Her publications include “Theatre Beyond Nationalism: Participatory Art in the Cyprus Buffer Zone” in The Cyprus Review and “Perceptions of (Ancient) Female Heroism in Twentieth-Century Cypriot Historical Plays” in Conference Proceedings International Society for the Study of European Ideas. She is co-founder of Rooftop Theatre, member of the Leadership Circle of the IMPACT Project, and a 2020 Global Fellow of the International Society for the Performing Arts, as well as the Artistic and Cultural Director of the Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival 2019, which was produced by the Home for Cooperation, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Community Arts Network: creada por visionarios que creen que el poder transformador de las artes puede utilizarse para generar impacto social, CAN es una plataforma que tiene como objetivo habilitar, involucrar y empoderar a individuos, organizaciones y comunidades a través de las artes y alianzas inesperadas para generar cambios con sentido y darle forma juntos a un futuro humano. Para poder nombrar los desafíos que tenemos por delante, utilizar el arte como una fuerza de cambio, inspirar y conectar a través de lo inesperado: para eso existimos.
Anis Barnat es un ciudadano multicultural del mundo con experiencia y trayectorias en el sector privado, la administración pública, las instituciones público-privadas. Un emprendedor social comprometido con una misión fundamental de su vida como co-fundador de El Sistema Grecia, Anis cree en los proyectos de arte comunitario como una herramienta para la inclusión social. Anis ha trabajado en la Embajada de Francia en Estados Unidos, en Radio France, Sciences Po Paris y en Askonas Holt representando orquestas y coros de todo el mundo y desarrollando, en particular, una estrecha relación con El Sistema en Venezuela. Es el Director de Community Arts Network.
Csaba Manyai: diseñador y curador en el campo del impacto que ha pasado las últimas dos décadas explorando cómo podemos adaptarnos y tener éxito en nuestro entorno fundamentalmente cambiante y rediseñar nuestros sistemas para adaptarnos a nuestros nuevos desafíos. Ha investigado sistemas complejos y la valorización de la innovación y ha utilizado ese conocimiento para cofundar TXD Impact Design Studio para ayudar a los clientes a diseñar innovaciones sistémicas revolucionarias y estrategias de impacto. Desde 2017 ha estado trabajando en estrecha colaboración con Community Arts Lab (Fundación Porticus) y Community Arts Network, como Asesor Estratégico y Arquitecto de Impacto.
Pooja Pradeep es ingeniera, de 29 años de edad, se convirtió en educadora y vive en Bangalore, India. Después de ser maestra de Física y Matemáticas en la escuela secundaria, ahora trabaja extensamente en los campos de transformación de conflictos, empoderamiento de refugiados y migrantes y artes para el impacto social. Pooja es la fundadora y directora ejecutiva de Letters of Love, directora internacional de GATHER en Seeds of Peace, representante india en Beyond The Classrooms Education, mentora de la Fundación Netri y, dirige Promoción y Communicaciones para Community Arts Network. Pooja ha sido galardonada con la Beca GATHER en 2018, la Beca Global Rex Karmaveer y el Premio Karmaveer Chakra en 2019. Pooja es una bailarina aclamada, una escritora apasionada, una viajera ávida y una buena amiga.
Samar Bandak se unió a Community Arts Network en 2021 como Gerente de Relaciones Global. Trabajó durante 10 años en el campo social con poblaciones desplazadas y marginadas en Caritas Jordan. Comenzó su viaje laboral con una conexión directa con las historias de las personas en el terreno. Después de unos años dirigió programas educativos y co-desarrolló un programa de música para niños desplazados. Pudo experimentar el poder de las artes para fomentar la resiliencia de los niños y sus familias. También tuvo la oportunidad de trabajar del lado del donante cuando se unió a la Fundación Porticus en 2017 como Gerente de Subvenciones para la región MENA y el Community Arts Lab. Desde la perspectiva de base hasta la global, ha sido testigo y experimentado el papel fundamental que cumplen de las artes no solo en la respuesta a las necesidades humanas en contextos humanitarios, sino también en el florecimiento del individuo y la comunidad orientados hacia una cultura de sustentabilidad.
Hans Dieleman : Holandés, con una maestría y un doctorado en sociología del conocimiento en la Universidad Erasmus de Rotterdam. Profesor titular desde 2007 en la Facultad de Ciencias y Humanidades de la Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM). Su investigación se centra en los procesos de cambio hacia sociedades más sostenibles. Realiza investigaciones en la industria, las ciudades y en la educación (educación para la sostenibilidad, el arte y la transdisciplinariedad como formas específicas de conocimiento). Sus temas de investigación académica son la epistemología y la hermenéutica y la inteligencia emocional / cognición incorporada. Co-recibió dos distinciones nacionales holandesas por su trabajo en Educación para la Sustentabilidad y es co-receptor de una distinción nacional mexicana 2010 por el desarrollo del Plan de Sustentabilidad de la Universidad Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México. Los últimos 15 años ha estado trabajando en particular en el desarrollo del campo del Arte, la transdisciplinariedad y la sustentabilidad, campo que le permite integrar varios de los temas antes mencionados. Es cofundador y miembro honorario de la ONG internacional "Cultura21" especializada en "culturas y artes de la sustentabilidad", una ONG con oficinas en Alemania, Dinamarca, Francia y México. Es miembro de la Asociación para el Aprendizaje Transdisciplinario y Estudios Avanzados (The Atlas) con sede en Texas / EE. UU., Miembro de la Asociación Sociológica Europea y de la Escuela de Investigación Interuniversitaria Holandesa SENSE para la investigación ambiental y de la sustentabilidad.
Vikram Iyengar: es un líder y conector artístico con sede en Calcuta, India, y trabaja a nivel internacional. Es bailarín-coreógrafo-director, presentador e investigador-escritor artístico. Cofundador y director artístico de Ranan Performance Collective, también inició y dirige la Fundación Pickle Factory Dance, un centro para la práctica y el discurso de la danza y el movimiento. Su ámbito de trabajo abarca la práctica, el discurso, la crítica, la ideación y la gestión, gira en torno al principio central de crear conexiones profundas con las artes y a través de ellas. Creo que las artes son parte inherente de cualquier sociedad. Existen para abrir la imaginación sobre posibles formas de ser, vivir y ver, y para crear un mundo más empático, humano y conectado. Esta es la base de cualquier trabajo que emprenda personalmente o con artistas y organizaciones artísticas en la India y en el extranjero. Además, también reinvento constantemente mi propia relación con la forma clásica india en la que he entrenado: kathak. Las experiencias con artistas de la danza contemporánea y el mundo del espectáculo en la India y Europa me han cambiado fundamentalmente como artista y han agudizado una conciencia sociopolítica, nuevamente pidiéndome que conecte mi mundo con el mundo en general. Contribuye regularmente con artículos y trabajos a diversas publicaciones y seminarios internacionales, dirige una variedad de talleres y trabaja en proyectos de investigación artística para instituciones en la India y en el extranjero. Es parte del Consejo Indio de Relaciones Culturales y varios otros organismos nacionales, ha recibido la Beca Nacional del Gobierno de la India y la Beca Nacional Juvenil de Danza.
Mike Van Graan: es el presidente de la red African Cultural Policy y un dramaturgo galardonado con treinta y dos obras de teatro en su haber. Actualmente es artista residente en la Universidad de Pretoria, donde se le otorgó un doctorado honorario en 2018 en reconocimiento a su activismo cultural y trabajo creativo. Después de las primeras elecciones democráticas de Sudáfrica, fue nombrado asesor especial del ministro responsable de las artes y la cultura, donde desempeñó un papel influyente en la configuración de las políticas culturales posteriores al apartheid. Ha ocupado puestos de liderazgo en formaciones culturales anti-apartheid y post-apartheid, así como en organizaciones panafricanas como Arterial Network, promoviendo el sector creativo y su contribución a los derechos humanos, la democracia y el desarrollo. Actualmente también se desempeña como secretario interino de la naciente Iniciativa de Arte y Cultura del Sur Global (GLOSACI). El trabajo reciente de Van Graan en el ámbito internacional incluye facilitar la Academy for Young Festival Managers (un proyecto de la Asociación Europea de Festivales), producir un conjunto de herramientas para Fairer International Cultural Collaboration con IETM, Dutch Culture y On-The-Move y colaborar con el Fondo Árabe para las artes y la cultura en un programa de emprendimiento cultural en Beirut. Recibió en 2018 el premio de la Fundación Hiroshima para la Paz y la Cultura, con sede en Suecia, en reconocimiento a su contribución a la lucha contra el apartheid, a la construcción de una sociedad posterior al apartheid y a la interfaz de la paz y la cultura tanto en Sudáfrica como en el continente africano.
+Peace está construyendo un nuevo movimiento por la paz que es interseccional, poderoso y sostenible. Es una coalición de más de 40 organizaciones e instituciones líderes en la construcción de la paz y una lista creciente de más de 21 ciudades con la plataforma de paz en sus ciudades. + Peace es una plataforma para campañas e incubadora de movimientos que aprovechan el poder de las estrategias culturales y narrativas para hacer que la construcción de la paz sea conocida, accesible y procesable. Es necesario un nuevo movimiento por la paz, es posible y está sucediendo. Junto con constructores de paz, artistas, trabajadores culturales y movimientos actuales de justicia / derechos humanos, + peace aprovecha estrategias culturales y narrativas para escuchar, colaborar y activar la acción colectiva global que construye la paz para que podamos transformar los problemas más urgentes de nuestro tiempo.
Aseel Zahran (ella): responsable de pedagogía y líder de investigación en + Peace, constructora de paz por formación y práctica. Se dedica a la pedagogía, la investigación y la práctica aplicada de la construcción de la paz basada en las artes y formas incorporadas de conocimiento y narración. Palestina es su hogar. Su familia es una de las muchas familias palestinas que fueron desplazadas a Jordania durante la nakba de 1948. Puede encontrarla tomando té con amigos inmersa en conversaciones sobre el próximo avance cultural para construir la paz.
Monica Curca (ella), Directora narrativa y estratega cultural en + Peace, es artista, diseñadora, organizadora cultural, constructora de paz y facilitadora. Le apasiona el co-diseño y la co-creación colectiva. Ha dedicado su carrera a la construcción de la paz y a aprovechar el poder del cambio narrativo y las estrategias culturales para crear comunidades a las que todos pertenecen. Mónica fue desarraigada de su gente y de la tierra de Rumania, llegó a Los Ángeles con su familia como refugiados cuando era una niña. Ahora está plantando nuevas semillas y viendo cómo crecen en Washington D.C. puedes encontrarla dibujando en su iPad, haciendo una profunda lluvia de ideas sobre la paz, la transformación y el cambio cultural, gesticulando salvajemente, riendo y hablando.. todo al mismo tiempo.
Grieve-Carlson Jessye (ella): asociada de programas y comunicaciones en +Peace es una facilitadora, educadora y artista comprometida con la creación de un mundo más justo y equitativo. Tiene experiencia en los sectores educativo y sin fines de lucro, específicamente trabajando en la organización de la justicia racial, el servicio directo para las personas encarceladas y el desarrollo de la juventud.
The World Youth Parliament for Water: es una red de jóvenes apasionados de más de 80 países. Sus miembros actúan sobre cuestiones relacionadas con el agua a todos los niveles; desde acciones concretas en las comunidades locales, hasta la promoción del liderazgo juvenil en el sector del agua en la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas. Responde a los intereses de los jóvenes, trabajando juntos para priorizar los problemas del agua y crear plataformas donde la experiencia de los jóvenes sea reconocida en estos temas. El Parlamento Mundial de la Juventud por el Agua apoya proyectos de agua dirigidos por jóvenes y trabaja para asegurarse de que los jóvenes tengan un lugar de toma de decisiones valorado y respetado entre los altos funcionarios de gestión del agua. Por el WYPW participó:
Stas Peters: es el vicepresidente del European Youth Parliament for Water. Su trabajo en el EYPW es asegurar de que se escuche la voz de la generación futura en la toma de decisiones sobre el agua en Europa y que su experiencia y objetivos se utilicen a nivel continental, nacional y local. Además de esto, el Parlamento Europeo de la Juventud por el Agua también ayuda, asesora y organiza proyectos de agua (dirigidos por jóvenes). A su vez, Stas estudia Delta Management en la Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas en Middelburg y ha seguido un camino lateral formándose en Eventos Disruptivos: desastres internacionales, migración y resiliencia. Por lo tanto, es seguro asumir que su campo de interés y su experiencia son en el sector del agua.
Equipo de intercambio de aprendizaje IMPACT
Armine Avetisyan: Como Gerente de Proyectos en IMPACT, entre otras responsabilidades, está involucrada en la coordinación de los intercambios virtuales de aprendizaje y en la producción del boletín electrónico Peacebuilding and the Arts Now. Armine es una practicante de la construcción de paz que se trabaja con enfoques creativos para la construcción de paz. Ha estado involucrada en la promoción de la confianza y la creación de plataformas para el diálogo entre diversos grupos de Armenia y Turquía: comunidades locales, artistas, organizaciones sin fines de lucro, autoridades locales y otros para trabajar juntos en el desarrollo de sociedades más justas y pacíficas. Codirigió el documental "¿No hemos compartido mucha sal y pan?" donde se cruzan la transformación de conflictos, la alimentación, la perspectiva de género en la construcción de la paz. Armine tiene una maestría en Resolución de Conflictos y Convivencia de la Escuela Heller de la Universidad Brandeis y otra maestría en Gestión Cultural de la Universidad Bilgi de Estambul (Turquía). Armine, check your bio in English it says IMPAC instead of IMPACT.
Ana Cabria Mellace: abogada, mediadora y facilitadora. Co-directora de la Fundación Cambio Democrático (FCD) en Argentina. También es consultora del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, donde ha coordinado programas de construcción de paz, participado en el diseño y desarrollo de procesos de diálogo y el fortalecimiento de una red de practicantes del diálogo en la región de América Latina y el Caribe de la que ha sido miembro del equipo editorial del Manual de Diálogo Democrático y ha participado en la elaboración de investigaciones y guías sobre el Enfoque Diálogo en la Transformación de Conflictos socio-ambientales así como en la evaluación del Diálogo Binacional Colombia-Ecuador. Asimismo, para Naciones Unidas y para FCD ha realizado estudios de caso sobre Gobernanza Ambiental para el Manejo Sostenible de Recursos Naturales y ha participado como consultora especializada para la Participación de Actores y Pueblos Originarios en el marco del desarrollo de diversos proyectos GEF. Como miembro de la FCD desde 2010, ha coordinado proyectos y programas vinculados a la participación social, el diálogo y la transformación de conflictos en temas ambientales y especialmente vinculados a la participación de los pueblos indígenas.
Cynthia Cohen es Directora del Programa de Construcción de la Paz y las Artes en el Centro Internacional de Ética, Justicia y Vida Pública de la Universidad de Brandeis, y miembro del Círculo de Liderazgo de IMPACT: Imaginando Juntos: Plataforma para las Artes, la Cultura y la Transformación de Conflictos. En Brandeis, inició la licenciatura en Creatividad, Artes y Transformación Social. Cindy ha escrito extensamente sobre las dimensiones estéticas y éticas de la transformación de conflictos, incluidos los capítulos "Involucrarse con las artes para promover la coexistencia" y "Enfoques creativos para la reconciliación". Fue co-editora y co-autora de Acting Together: Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict, una antología de dos volúmenes acompañada de un documental y un conjunto de herramientas de materiales educativos y de capacitación. Tiene un doctorado en educación de la Universidad de New Hampshire, una maestría en estudios urbanos del Instituto de Tecnología de Massachusetts y una licenciatura en etnomusicología de la Universidad Wesleyan.
Ellada Evangelou nació y creció en Chipre. Ha estudiado en Chipre y Estados Unidos y recibió una beca Fulbright para estudios de posgrado en Estados Unidos. Ha trabajado como dramaturga, directora de teatro, facilitadora de talleres y consultora independiente, en colaboración con compañías de teatro, ONG y organizaciones internacionales, incluido el PNUD y la Fundación Anna Lindh. Imparte cursos de teatro y dramaturgia en educación superior en Chipre y Estados Unidos. Está interesada en la relación entre teatro / dramaturgia e identidad, y trabaja en la intersección del activismo y la erudición en comunidades poscoloniales y posconflicto. Sus publicaciones incluyen “Teatro más allá del nacionalismo: arte participativo en la zona de amortiguamiento de Chipre” en The Cyprus Review y “Percepciones del heroísmo femenino (antiguo) en obras históricas chipriotas del siglo XX” en Actas de conferencias Sociedad Internacional para el Estudio de Ideas Europeas. Es cofundadora de Rooftop Theatre, miembro del Círculo de Liderazgo del Proyecto IMPACT, y Miembro Global 2020 de la Sociedad Internacional de Artes Escénicas, así como Directora Artística y Cultural del Festival de Artes Escénicas Buffer Fringe 2019 y 2020 producido por Home for Cooperation en Nicosia, Chipre.
Carmen Olaechea ha trabajado con la sociedad civil latinoamericana por más de 32 años, en ONG, redes y en una fundación internacional de donantes. Sus responsabilidades han incluido: el diseño, desarrollo y supervisión de proyectos y programas; conocimiento y gestión de riesgos y promoción de redes. Ha desarrollado marcos conceptuales y estratégicos; lideró procesos de cambio institucional; diseñó e implementó arquitecturas de aprendizaje colaborativo; evaluó proyectos locales e internacionales y gestionó riesgos tanto a nivel operativo como estratégico. Sus publicaciones incluyen dos libros de coautoría sobre arte y transformación social y tres libros para niños. Carmen es presidenta de Fundación Cambio Democrático, ONG especializada en diálogo y transformación de conflictos, miembro del consejo asesor de Crear Vale La Pena, ONG latinoamericana líder en el campo de las artes para la transformación social y corresponsable de los intercambios de aprendizaje en IMPACT. Además, Carmen ofrece en Argentina, España y países de América Latina talleres sobre arte y transformación social, sustentabilidad y cómo responder al cambio de paradigma. También trabaja como asesora independiente para individuos, líderes sociales y empresariales y sus organizaciones, ayudándolos a integrar nuevas perspectivas en su pensamiento y acción. Como experta en sustentabilidad, acompaña a personas, organizaciones y escuelas en el desarrollo de programas para sus procesos de transformación hacia la sustentabilidad.
Ameer Shaheed es investigador gestor de proyectos y actor cultural. Combina experiencia en salud pública y desarrollo internacional con una pasión por las artes de toda su vida. Está profundamente intrigado por el papel que desempeñan las artes y la cultura en el mundo en general, incluida la forma en que pueden ayudar a abordar las preocupaciones sociales, filosóficas y de desarrollo. Su formación académica se basa en la ciencia, con una licenciatura en bioquímica, una maestría en ingeniería ambiental y un doctorado en salud pública (agua, saneamiento e higiene). Creció en el centro multicultural de Ginebra, Suiza, y ha trabajado en 14 países de Europa, Asia y África, centrándose principalmente en proyectos de comunicación e investigación de salud pública. Ha mantenido un gran interés en las artes, principalmente como director de eventos y músico. Su trabajo en eventos abarca diferentes disciplinas, incluida la fotografía (por ejemplo, la Bienal de Fotografía Africana en 2019) y la música (por ejemplo, Bamako Jazz Festival 2019, Mali Afrobeat Festival 2018). Ahora está uniendo sus intereses: trabajar con Geneva Water Hub en reflexiones creativas sobre el agua y la paz en el Sahel; redacción de artículos para el Laboratorio de Arte de la UNESCO sobre respuestas culturales a los desafíos humanitarios; y colaborando con IMPACT en varios temas de investig