What if we could learn what nature wants and needs straight from the horse’s mouth? And by ‘horse’, we mean… horse. Or baboon. Or dandelion.
With that goal in mind, this workshop will explore how to better understand non-human others while thinking of ideas, services, products, or innovations that are needed to create a positive impact on the natural world. Together we will try to put ourselves in the shoes of Mother Nature by experimenting with creative methods that can stimulate our imagination and boost our ability to adopt new perspectives.
Entrepreneurship is often anthropocentric, focusing primarily on the needs of potential consumers, investors, and society. However, entrepreneurs also seek to play their part in the transition towards a sustainable and just society, increasingly shifting their focus towards so-called Biosphere entrepreneurship. This creates an opportunity to reposition entrepreneurship to be more biocentric, and engage explicitly with the natural world while thinking of future innovations, products, and creations that would have a positive impact on people and nature.
This weekend workshop:
- Dives into the powerful tool of Photovoice, using photography to communicate deep meaning, ideas, and better understand nature’s needs.
- Explores methods that try to facilitate a multispecies perspective through visioning and speculative imaginaries.
- Will stimulate participants’ imagination and creativity – vital to the entrepreneur.
- Sharpens a range of skills that are transferable across multiple contexts and settings, such as perspective-taking, empathy, collaboration, and communication of ideas in new, engaging ways.
Learning outcomes include:
- Applying new, creative methods in the context of biosphere entrepreneurship.
- Generating engaging content and communicating your ideas in an innovative way.
- How to understand nature and its needs better.
- Using your own experiences and subjectivity in a systematic and legitimate way.
- Creating ideas and innovations that will account for non-human perspectives.
ELIGIBILITY & SELECTION
All students and alumni of SSES member universities are eligible to apply to this weekend workshop. We get many applications and unfortunately cannot accept everyone. The selection process is outlined below.
SELECTION PROCESS
- Application is reviewed
- Selection is made and a confirmation email is sent out
- Participants must confirm their seat in order to secure the spot
- If spots are not confirmed in time, the waitlist will be reviewed and new participants selected
About the teacher
Kinga Psiuk is a research assistant and project coordinator at Stockholm Resilience Centre, working on several diverse projects including Unruly Natures, New Normal, and BiosphereFutures. She is also a former SSES course assistant. Kinga’s work focuses on understanding the relationship between humans and nature while working with a diverse range of actors in different contexts (from South Africa to Alaska). In her research, she experiments with different methodological approaches, currently focusing on interpretive research that accounts for human subjectivity. She is also interested in exploring multispecies perceptions that go beyond what is immediately obvious to humans. Her background in psychology and social-ecological resilience provides an interesting combination that influences her work.
