Forest meetings

Forest Meetings

The project Forest Meetings creates an open, safe, knowledge-based meeting place for discussions about one of the core futures issues - the forest. By meeting across disciplinary and sector boundaries and by bringing together scientific and artistic methods, we create conditions for new discoveries and insights about how we can be with the forest.

Welcome to join a series of thought provoking, informative and inspiring conversations on how we can value and work with the forest in old, changed and entirely new ways. Forests concern all of us – by storing carbon, providing alternatives to fossil based materials and energy, offering livelihoods, biodiverse habitats, as well as a source of recreation and culture. Get your say in how we live, love and work with our forests.

Over four digital sessions, we – a transdisciplinary and international group of people - will explore, exemplify, discuss, generate ideas on four themes connected with forest and sustainability.

Forest Meetings are hosted by Linnaeus University, Green Sustainability knowledge environment.

Forest

Forest Meeting 1: Collaborations

13th September 2022, 3-5.30pm Swedish time, 2-4.30pm UTC

When forests meet ecological, economic, social and cultural dimensions of sustainability, a range of diverse stakeholders are implied. They include industry, governance, science, indigenous communities. They also include a multitude of species, tourism, arts and media – and more. As stakeholders meet, different understandings of knowledge, and different culture and languages also have to meet. In this forest collaboration, we will explore how we can meaningfully and effectively collaborate across many forms of stakeholders. We will do this by drawing on innovative examples of stakeholder collaboration, and together co-create principles of engagement to use in the following sessions.
Register here!

Forest Meeting 2: Futures oriented indicators

19th October 2022, 3-5.30pm Swedish time, 2-4.30pm UTC

It is a well-known idea (for example from Einstein) that it is not possible to solve problems with the same mindset that created them in the first place. Indicators (such as the GDP) are a strong driver for work, as well as carriers of mindsets. This means the we need indicators that genuinely reflect the mindset we want to move towards, not mindsets of the past. In this Forest Meeting, we will explore futures oriented indicators for forest work. We will draw on the needs of many different stakeholder and design a system of indicators for forest work. Register here!

Forest Meeting 3: Myths & facts

22nd November 2022, 3-5.30pm Swedish time, 2-4.30pm UTC

The role of forest work in climate change, biodiversity loss, livelihoods of indigenous communities and for industry provokes strong emotions and polarised debates. Layers of science, business interests, cultural norms, and media convene in creating a confusing picture where it is hard to distinguish fact from fiction. In this forest meeting, we will seek to identify points of tension, goal conflicts and cruxes, and work beyond simple polarisations. We will bring together perspectives from science and art to co-create a new map of forest values that can support joined up action across multiple stakeholders. Register here!

Forest Meeting 4: Innovation

12th December 2022, 3-5.30pm Swedish time, 2-4.30pm UTC

In order to address key global challenges, such as climate change and social segregation, there is a need to create innovation beyond new technology. How we collaborate needs to be innovated, as well as how we learn and educate, how we make local and global infrastructures. There is also need for innovation in terms of how we can cope with changes to lifestyles and work practices, how we can understand ourselves as humans in a changing world and which stories we can tell to help us to move forward within Earth’s limits. In this forest meeting, we will create briefs for innovation starting from the map created in the previous meeting on forest myths and fiction. We will engage with a series of approaches to innovation, from business, science, technology and arts to support us. Register here!

Forest Meetings are hosted by Linnaeus University and the Green Sustainability Knowledge environment and designed by Mathilda Tham, Miranda Moss, Nasra Rashiid, Juliana Restrepo, Åsa Ståhl, Jorge Zapico.

Read more: https://forestmeetings.se/