In this lecture, we will nest the diversity of epistemologies and ontologies that exist within our consortium on the topic of Just Transitions. Bringing together voices from Colombia, South Africa and Germany, we will get different perspectives on how just transitions are understood. Michelle Pressend, academic coordinator at UCT, will present a critical reflection on what it is that “Just Transitions” may aim to overcome.
Roberto Almanza, professor of Anthropology at the University of Magdalena, will then show what decolonial perspectives and the Epistemologies of the Caribbean can teach us to have (more) “Just Transitions”. Nataly Díaz, academic coordinator at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IDEA) belonging to the National University of Colombia in Bogotá, will close with an intervention on why biocultural perspectives must lay front and centre in the process and goal of “Just Transitions”, in order to attain planetary justice.
After these inputs, Andrea Cardoso, Professor of Ecological Economics at the University of Magdalena, and Felipe Corral, academic coordinator of TRAJECTS at TU Berlin, will moderate a panel discussion that will engage with participants on-site and joining us virtually. After the lecture, we will host a reception with selected drinks and and appetizers open to the academic community at TU Berlin and especially aimed to bring TRAJECTS’ network in Germany closer together.