Mechanisms for transdisciplinary co-production

Abstract

In the age of climate emergency, there continues to be a deep disconnection between people’s perception of social concerns (e.g. job and economic security, urban design and uses of technology) and environmental concerns (e.g. weather-related disasters, pollution, loss of green spaces, ecoanxiety). This fuels what many call a ‘democratic deficit’, where representative democracies are struggling to foster and support evidence-based decision-making in the face of extensive misinformation and disinformation campaigns. This is particularly concerning among youth and vulnerable parts of the population, such as immigrant communities and the elderly. This workshop proposes transdisciplinary engagement as a way to engage and inform around those issues, while building and extending Open Science efforts to provide an alternative to bubble chambers created by digital media and some forms of Artificial intelligence. The workshop aims to explore, together with delegates and through break-out groups, experiences of engaging local communities in developing environmental/social interventions together with policy-makers as well as researchers, thinking about challenges and learning from each other’s solutions. Some of the examples will include water research and policy engagement in Italy, youth engagement around environmental themes across European organisations, and the development of the Climate Pact Ambassador network.