Mike Danson sets context in keynote address to “A National Mission’ – Delivering a Just Transition to Net-Zero in Scotland’ Online event 15 Dec 2021

Professor Mike Danson will give the opening keynote address for the session on ‘A National Mission’ – Delivering a Just Transition’, as part of the Climate Emergency Series Professor Danson will set the context for the event by outlining the objectives and the content for and within the commission’s report.

When: 15th December 2021 Book your free place: http://bit.ly/justtransitiont

@HolyroodEvents @MikeDanson1

“Holyrood Events @HolyroodEvents · Join us next week for our Just Transition event, part of our Climate Emergency Series Join us along with experts including @ben_combes @MonitorDeloitte, Frances Guy @IntDevAlliance, @sustscot @EAS_Scotland & more #ScotClimateSeries”

Delivering a Just Transition to Net-Zero in Scotland

“The World’s Whose Oyster?” SCIS at 6th Oct online event on Scotland’s coastal commons, alt economies and locally embedded responses to climate breakdown: with Atlas Arts and #CLIMAVORE friends

6th Oct 2021 Wed 7pm on Zoom: The World’s Whose Oyster? W/ @CookingSections, @KA_Burnett & @MikeDanson1 from @IslandScot and seabed campaigner @AilsaMcL – discussing coastal commons, alt economies and locally embedded responses to climate breakdown: https://atlasarts.org.uk/programme/climavore-on-tidal-zones/climavore-on-tidal-zones-october-celebration…#climavore

info@atlasarts.org.uk

01478 611143

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CLIMAVORE: On Tidal Zones’ October block of programming will take stock of the project’s history over the past five years, celebrating local partnerships, conversations, alternative ingredients, economy, industry and looking at the climate crisis. We aim to acknowledge the complexed, nuanced interspecies relationships between ourselves, the coasts and of course (inter)tidal zones.

We have a series of events throughout October in relation to this, which you can find here:

https://atlasarts.org.uk/programme/climavore-on-tidal-zones/climavore-on-tidal-zones-october-celebration

Island Youth, Education and COP 26 Climate Project Opportunity -Apply to SCELG!

Island Youth, Education and COP 26 Climate Project Opportunity -Apply to SCELG!

Knowledge Exchange Assistant (374456)

To apply please follow the instructions online and search for Knowledge Exchange Assistant (374456)

Climate Change: Message in a Bottle Island Youth and Education Project

The University of Strathclyde is currently recruiting a part time position (0.7 FTE – so three days a week more or less) to manage the project. This is a unique opportunity to be part of an exciting project on climate change, youth and islands before, during and after COP26. The project will work with island based children in Scotland and beyond to bring their message back to COP26 and will then return to the islands to share how that message was received by policymakers and climate stakeholders.

The Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) has been awarded a grant from Scottish Government to carry out the COP 26 related “Climate Change Message in a Bottle Project” –

“As a Knowledge Exchange Assistant, you will assist in the management and delivery of the project under the general supervision of senior colleagues.  Under their guidance, you will liaise directly with external partners to provide support with the terms of the project. You will also input as a team member to administrative activities. In particular, you will be asked to: 1) identify and liaise with schools (mainly primary schools) on Scottish islands and to work closely with project partners to identify potential schools on islands beyond Scotland; 2) work closely with project partners to manage the delivery of in person and virtual school workshops on climate change and COP26, both before and after the COP; 3) liaise with project partners to successfully plan and deliver one or more project related events in Glasgow during COP26. The successful candidate will be encouraged to bring her/his own passion and ideas to the project in order to make it as impactful as possible.”

It is anticipated that this role will start at the beginning of August 2021.

Enquiries about the post can be directed to Dr Francesco Sindico, (francesco.sindico@strath.ac.uk).

https://www.linkedin.com/company/strathclyde-centre-for-environmental-law-and-governance/

Click here for full details

Social justice: community land, energy and forestry event SCIS @ENGAGE

A Social Justice Approach to Community Land, Energy and Forestry
 Monday, 29th April 2019, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

Book here: https://www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/597

Registration from 9:30 am
Venue: The Technology and Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde

This event aims to evaluate the current policy and practice of land reform in line with aspirations of social justice and with particular focus on forestry and energy. Bringing together experienced land reform researchers, journalists and public representatives, with community organisations and energy, labour and law academics.

There will be talks from Andy Wightman, MSP, Lesley Riddoch, author; Peter Peacock, former MSP and land reform campaigner;  and  Angela Williams from the Knoydart Foundation and Director of Community Land Scotland.  Followed by panel and audience discussion with contributions from Tiffany Kane, Operations Manager, organiser and campaigner for Common Weal and Kathryn A. Burnett, School of Media, Culture and Society, University of the West of Scotland is Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Island Studies<https://scotcis.wordpress.com/about/>.

The event is supported by Scottish Universities Insight Institute and is dedicated to the memory of John Booth of the Isle of Eigg renewable energy system. We are delighted to be joined by representatives from the island at the event

Who should attend?
We encourage all with an interest in land reform, community energy, forestry and tackling social inequality to attend.

This is an event that is open to the public.

Benefits of attending
This events brings together some of the most respected voices in Scottish Land reform along with community representatives and researchers who have been focusing on localised energy and forestry projects. This promises to be a provocative session that places the idea of social justice firmly at the centre the debate designed to inform future policy and practice.

Brian Garvey
Department of Work, Employment & Organisation
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

Tel: 0141 548 3999
email: brian.garvey@strath.ac.uk

Just Transition Commission, Professor Mike Danson on panel of experts advising Scottish Ministers on how to apply Just Transition principles to Scotland.

A National Mission for a fairer, greener Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/groups/just-transition-commission/

The purpose of the Just Transition Commission is to advise Scottish Ministers on how to apply Just Transition principles to Scotland. These principles can be summarised as:

o  plan, invest and implement a transition to environmentally and socially sustainable jobs, sectors and economies, building on Scotland’s economic and workforce strengths and potential

o  create opportunities to develop resource efficient and sustainable economic approaches, which help address inequality and poverty

o  design and deliver low carbon investment and infrastructure, and make all possible efforts to create decent, fair and high value work, in a way which does not negatively affect the current workforce and overall economy

SCIS Co-Director Professor Mike Danson is one of several experts advising on the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Commission.

Mike has varied research interests including regional economic development, regional development agencies, enterprise development, microbreweries, basic income, early-onset dementia, community ownership and management of land and other resources.

Since 1997, he has authored over 250 research papers, many published in international scientific journals and books. His research work is frequently presented at international conferences. Mike is Professor Emeritus in Enterprise Policy, Heriot-Watt University, Visiting Professor in the Centre for Energy Policy, Strathclyde University, Chair of Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland and Vice Chair of the Reid Foundation.

SCIS Research Meeting July 5th 2018

Invitation    –    All welcome.

SCIS Research Meeting

Thursday 5^th July 2018    Time: 10:30 – 12:30

UWS Paisley Campus –    NB – note venue change

Room J251 Elles Building West.

There will be a meeting of the Scottish Centre for Island Studies on Thursday 5^th July 2018 at UWS  Paisley Campus (Room J251). The meeting will include updates on current SCIS related projects. It will also provide an opportunity for discussion around new links and for proposed new activity.

*Apologies – we have moved the venue to Paisley UWS campus as CCA room is currently unavailable.

Please email: kathryn.burnett@uws.ac.uk if you would like to attend or for more information.

Mapping Small Island Communicative Ecologies Seminar SCIS@UWS

Invitation to Research Seminar Creativity and Culture HUB,

School of Media, Culture and Society  

Wednesday 17^th January 2018

14:00- 15:00 UWS Ayr Campus  GT 45

A/Prof. Evangelia Papoutsaki, UNITEC, New Zealand

Mapping Small Island Communicative Ecologies

Islands have a unique micro-communicative ecology makeup and distinctiv geographical and socio-cultural identities. This research seminar introduces the concept of island communicative ecology illustrated with examples from research conducted in several islands in the Pacific region.

The communicative ecology approach refers to the various forms, resources, activities, channels and flows of communication and information used by an island or group of islands or communities within islands. Mapping as a methodology enables a broader comprehension of the complexity of specific island communities and allows for the exploration of the various types of communication activity island people are engaged in (locally, trans-locally, intra-island, inter-island, trans-peripheral, national etc.), the resources available and the understanding of how these can be used in sustaining island communities.

In this seminar, several borrowed concepts, theories, terms and approaches from communication studies will be explored within an island context: communicative ecology, and communicative ecology layers (social, technological, discursive), communication infrastructure theory, communication action, storytelling network and storytelling agents, rhizomas and community media.

The presenter explores how the communicative environment forms part of existing island communities’ structures; identifies key communicative practices that contribute to sustaining islands sociocultural cohesion; explores the role of media, in particular community radio, in localized information flows unique to the islands; and identifies future areas of research of value to the field of Islands Studies especially through the application of the communicative ecology mapping approach.

We are delighted to welcome Dr Evangelia Papoutsaki to Ayr campus for this research seminar. This seminar is open to all UWS staff and students and all are very welcome. Please email Lesley-Anne (lesley-anne.niven@uws.ac.uk) or myself (kathryn.burnett@uws.ac.uk) for any further information you may require.  Evangelia will be delighted to speak with colleagues on any aspect of her global work on media and communication in a range of key sectors and international settings (including diaspora and migrant identities, HIV/Aids, Climate Change, and participatory methods for community engagement). There is time set aside after the seminar for colleagues to meet with Evangelia further.

For further information on Evangelia’s extensive global experience and expertise in media, communication and community research and policy please refer here:

http://www.unitec.ac.nz/about-us/contact-us/staff-directory/dr-evangelia-papoutsaki

https://www.epapoutsaki.com/

Communicative Ecologies Research Seminar Jan 2018

UWS SAGES Funded PhD Studentship:deadline 26th Jan 2018

Funded PhD Studentship

Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in island communities: engaging participatory approaches to inform community decision-making

Liniclate, looking to South Uist: Image KA Burnett

Remote islands are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise, changing weather patterns and their impacts on storminess, coastal erosion, and flooding. Moreover, the particular nuanced contexts of remote rural settings can compound this physical vulnerability, a layer of vulnerability that is not considered in the typical climate change impact studies. This is the case in Scotland, where most climate change impact studies have tended towards a top-down approach, rather than engaging the communities and decision-makers impacted by climate change in the analysis of vulnerabilities. For an effective adaptation policy, local circumstances and characteristics need to be taken into account. An assessment following an integrated perspective on vulnerability, incorporating both top-down and bottom-up components is a mean for capturing this knowledge for decision-making. Moreover, research on policy discourse framings of climate change in remote island settings has value in terms of offering a basis for a critical analysis of dominant representations and narratives and of other competing accounts, as climate change in rural areas occurs in the context of other social, economic and land use and ownership trends.

The aim for this studentship is to develop a climate change adaptation assessment framework suited to participation, integration and collaboration in the context of rural island communities. Rural populations are particularly sensitive to environmental change given their dependence on natural resources. The study offers an opportunity to assess the risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities of climate change through the co-production of knowledge with stakeholders, and to initiate dialogue on climate adaptation. Baseline assessments of climate change vulnerability will be performed to inform the adaptation discourse using an integrated socio-environmental vulnerability assessment methodology in a number of island case study sites in Scotland.

Methodologically the study will build on the established partnerships between the supervisory team and communities in the selected island locations in order to elucidate their perspectives on climate vulnerability and adaptation options. Qualitative data collection and analysis of interviews and other stakeholder-focussed activities are envisaged as being a key part of this. Community engagement work will also be informed by analysis of existing climatic records and of climate change projection.

This studentship will be co-supervised by Dr Alexandre Gagnon and Dr Kathryn A. Burnett, University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and Dr Alistair Geddes, University of Dundee. Dr Massimo Bollasina, Edinburgh University, will also play an advisory role.

This studentship is funded by the Scottish Association for Geosciences, Environment, and Society (SAGES) and UWS and is available from October 2018. Students will receive an annual stipend at the RCUK rate (currently £14,553 per annum) and payment of tuition fees.

Apply using the following link: https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/admissions-application/postgraduate-research-application-guide/ by deadline of January 26 2018.

For further information about the project, please contact Dr Gagnon: Alexandre.Gagnon@uws.ac.uk or tel: +44 (0)141 848 3270.