Septentrio Reports

Book Launch and Scientific Workshop "Follow Your Heart. The School for Multipotentialites"

Margherita Paola Poto — 2023-03-03

The overall aim of this report is to document the experience gained during the book launch and co-created, experiential workshop on the book "Follow Your Heart: the school for multipotentialites." Reflecting on the dynamic process triggered by the research gathered and further developed throughout the book helps to create ideas and practices toward transformative change in research and education. The authors planned three book launches, structured as innovative academic presentations combined with creativity workshops that follow some of the suggested activities that were specifically created for the book. The first book launch was held in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, UK, and hosted by the educational farm The Good Life Projects, coordinated by Craig Stevens, on February 18, 2023. The proceeds from the book launch (collected through book sales) were donated to Windsor Hill Wood, a place of refuge and community in the local area that helps people heal, grow, and rebuild their lives while taking care of nature and encouraging sustainable livelihoods. Windsor Hill Wood as a community and philosophy closely align with the authors' beliefs and the main concepts of Follow Your Heart, which made the overall impact of the first book launch exceptionally more meaningful. This report is designed to share the key insights from the event and promote further discussion within the field of emotional and ecological education, in line with the project ECO_CARE. The report is accordingly divided into the following sections: 1. Introduction; 2. Follow Your Heart: audience, vision and development; 3. Ways forward; 4. Reference list.

Second Book Launch and Creative Bilingual Workshop “Follow Your Heart. The School for Multipotentialites”

Margherita Paola Poto — 2023-04-12

The overall aim of this report is to document the experience gained during the second book launch and the second experience of a creative and emotional education bilingual workshop on the book Follow Your Heart: the school for multipotentialites. Continuing along the lines of the first book launch and the co-created scientific workshop in Shepton Mallet, UK, in February 2023, the authors of the book, in collaboration with the teacher Jorinde Green (LaLa Land, Torino), organized a second event targeting primary-school aged children and their families to join for an afternoon of Follow Your Heart-inspired activities, storytelling, and collaborative work on ecological and emotional education in the Space Habitat, in via Le Chiuse 66, Torino. Building off the first book launch in the UK, which was hosted by the educational farm The Good Life Projects, this second event was held in a community center and project called “Habitat” and brought together 18 children (ages 4 to 9) and their parents and/or guardians. The proceeds from the event, which were collected through book sales, were donated to Windsor Hill Wood and to Space Habitat (our host) itself, to support educational spaces that promote quality education for all. In continuity with the previous report, this report aims to share the key lessons learned from the event and promote further discussion within the field of emotional and ecological education, in line with the project ECO_CARE.

An Innovative Partnership and Methods for Knowledge Co-Production in Water Governance. The case study of the Gesso Stura Natural Park.

Eva Julia Lohse — 2023-06-01

This report describes the education, research activities and productive dialogue that took place over a 3-day workshop at the Gesso Stura Natural Park (Italy, Piedmont Region). The project was coordinated by Prof. Eva Julia Lohse in collaboration with Prof. Margherita Paola Poto, and funded by the DAAD to establish and strengthen collaboration between the University of Bayreuth and the University of Turin. The workshop aimed to explore interdisciplinary, novel methods for (legal and political) water governance in the age of climate crisis. It investigated how co-production of knowledge can be used in environmental decision-making processes so as to reach better decisions based on a broader knowledge base, increase acceptance of protection measures by the public, and improve management of areas hit by severe droughts to guarantee access to water for communities. The workshop builds on the long-standing cooperation between the two principal researchers and their institutions regarding participation in environmental decision-making, sustainable development and water governance in Italy and Germany. This cooperation has been further developed by joint research on co-production of knowledge with indigenous and local communities to address the complex legal and social questions raised by the climate crisis.

Third Book Launch, Workshop and Next Steps “Follow Your Heart. The School for Multipotentialites”

Margherita Paola Poto — 2023-06-01

The overall aim of this report is to document the experience and knowledge gained during the third book launch and the third experience of a creative and emotional education bilingual workshop based on the book Follow Your Heart: the school for multipotentialites. Continuing along the lines of the two book launches held in Shepton Mallet, UK (February 2023) and Turin, Italy (March 2023), the three authors, in collaboration with Laura Vita (McMaster graduate student collaborating with ECO_CARE for her practicum), organized a third event inviting multilingual educators working in southern France. This event was held in Marseille, France in a large, bright event space owned by Prozon, a local company that serves businesses with locally-sourced technical equipment supplies through an online digital platform.