Accepted Panels

This round table aims to explore creative ways in which anthropoligists can contribute to the UNESCO-BRIDGES Coalition in developing and applying approaches to sustainability issues that are based on human sciences. The first part will be devoted to the presentation of the BRIDGES’ aims and activities. The Founding Executive Director of the BRIDGES Coalition will discuss the challenges and opportunities of integrating humanities, social sciences, and local and traditional knowledge perspectives into research, education, and action for global sustainability. Then, the Director of UNESCO-BRIDGES UK Hub will share examples of successful collaborations among social and human scientists, artists, education specialists, and civil society in sustainability research. In the second part, the WAU anthropologists will engage with the BRIDGES representatives by responding to the following questions: (1) How have creative pedagogies that integrate fieldwork research and learning helped students to engage with complex social and environmental challenges which put human security at risk? and (2) How have anthropologists reached out to policymakers and promoted the use of anthropological research in crafting policies? The round table discussion is premised on trust that world anthropologies can contribute to global sustainability efforts in two complementary ways; first, by performing on the ground context-specific reserach, and second, by promoting the traditional sustainable practices and incorporating novel ones into daily life in ways that do not disrupt socio-cultural continuity of local communities. In the final part, the panel will explore possibilites of how IUAES and WCAA, with their specific structural and membership frameworks can collaborate with the UNESCO-BRIDGES Coalition in confronting global socio-economic, cultural, and evironmental challenges.