// tA // New paper – Better Living (in a Complex World): An Ethics of Care for our Modern Co-Existence

Posted on By Gaston Meskens
View from my window, Tokyo, 12 November 2015
View from my window, Tokyo, 12 November 2015

What do we mean when we say we live in a complex world? This paper characterises problems such as combating climate change, the provision of affordable access to healthy food for all, or evaluation of the possible use of nuclear energy as ‘complex social problems’ of which the complexity can be described by the same set of seven characteristics, and consequently reflects on what it would imply to deal with this complexity fairly. It argues why and how modern representative democracy (within the nation state), science and the market, as the three formal governing methods to produce meaning for our modern society, are unable to deal with these complex problems in a satisfactory way, ‘incapable’ as they are to ‘grasp’ their complexity. Based on this argumentation, the paper proposes ‘reflexivity’ and ‘intellectual solidarity’ as ethical attitudes or virtues for all concerned actors, to be understood from a specific ethics of care perspective ‘bound in complexity’. Consequently, it proposes ‘societal trust’ as an overall criterion for governance, although with the specification that this trust should be generated by the governance methods we use to make sense of complexity rather than by promised or anticipated outcomes. With this focus, in conclusion, it proposes advanded approaches to democratic decision making, policy supportive research and education that would have the capacity to enable and enforce the attitudes of reflexivity and intellectual solidarity for the better of our co-existence.

See https://theacademiaforum.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/paper-better-living-in-a-complex-world-an-ethics-of-care-for-our-modern-co-existence/

 

// tAI // [Your Absence was Noticed] – expo and performance night

Posted on By Gaston Meskens

your absence was noticed for brochure

[Your Absence was Noticed]  > expo and performance night

From 20 to 27 August 2016, the 23rd floor of the Antwerp – Tower is occupied by artists, activists and philosophers alike. In discussions and through photography, video, performance, painting, drawing and installation art, they work around the idea of melancholy as an activist stance against the strategies of conformism, positivism, populism and profitism that rule the world today. All work accumulates in a happening on Friday 26 August.

With contributions from

Özge Akarsu – Tim Boers – Juliane Borths – Koen Boyden – Sarah de Graeve – Joke Druyts – Sam Geuens – Kris Gevers – Wataru Iwata – Nico Jacobs – Klaas Janszoons – Lennart Langanki – Eef Lommelen – Luciano Margo – Céline Mathieu – Inge Meijer – Gaston Meskens – Faryda Moumouh – Paul-Ruben Mundthal – Agnes Nagygyörgy – Torri Nickmans – Mr. Swolfs – Isabel Tesfazghi – Narcisse Tordoir – Frederik Van den Eynde – Dennis Van der Planken – Myrthe van der Mark – Britt Zoë Van Dongen – Petra Van Dorpe – Filip Van Kerckhoven – Hans Verhaegen

Venue

Antwerp Tower 23rd floor, De Keyserlei 5, 2018 Antwerp

Expo

Opening: Saturday 20 August, 18h00 – 22h00

opening hours

Saturday 20 Aug, 18h00 – 22h00
Sunday 21 Aug, 14h00 – 22h00
Monday 22 Aug, 14h00 – 22h00
Tuesday 23 Aug, 14h00 – 22h00
Wednesday 24 Aug, 14h00 – 22h00
Thursday 25 Aug, 14h00 – 22h00
Friday 26 Aug, 14h00 – 02h00
Saturday 27 Aug, 14h00 – 18h00

Performance night on Friday 26 August

20h00 – talking [sex], an open workshop (Dutch/English) hosted by Eef Lommelen

21h30 – performance by the collective CMMC

22h00 – soundscapes & poetry (soundscapes performed by TRAGIC REALIST FICTION and friends, with skyline view and an open mike for everyone who wants to recite a poem or express a thought)

Download and spread the flyer of the event.

This happening is part of the 2nd World Conference on the Value of Melancholy in Times of Cheap Commitment,  organised and curated by Gaston Meskens and Juliane Borths for the Institute of Idle Curiosity for Elements of Seduction.

Revisiting Melancholy

Robert Burton published the first edition of his magnum opus ‘The Anatomy of Melancholy’ in 1621. His aim was to write a definite and comprehensive study of the meaning of melancholy. His book promised to explain ‘.. What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Philosophically, Medicinally, Historically, Opened and Cut Up…’. What looks at first sight as an exhaustive analysis of melancholy as a disease to be cured is in fact much more. Burton uses melancholy as a perspective to inquire into all human emotions and thought. In that sense, the Anatomy can also be seen as a total encyclopaedia of the human condition of that time.

Our modern times may now inspire us to re-read that meaning for the contemporary human condition, although not through a systematic re-interpretation of the encyclopaedic classes and categories, but on the basis of one simple idea….

Melancholy is not depression neither pessimism. Drawing on interpretations from the pre-modern Romantic and Decadent Era, it can be described as the aesthetical consolation that comes with the awareness of the impossibility of pure beauty, unity and harmony, and of the inevitability of imperfection, decadence and uncertainty. The idea however is that melancholy is not a detached but an ethical experience, and that this became apparent with modernity: melancholy is the human condition resulting from a deliberate awareness of the limits to rational instrumental reason in a context of social appeal. That social appeal may either be love, friendship or lust, or social or political engagement. The implications of modernity rendered melancholy with a social meaning: the impossibility of pure beauty, unity and harmony, and of the inevitability of imperfection, decadence and uncertainty, is not experienced by way of detached observation, but in a reflexive way in social interaction.

In this vision, the ‘end state’ of melancholy is still aesthetical consolation. But that state is not passive, as it arises from an ethical demand. In its recognition of the intrinsic ambiguity of human interaction and of the inherent complexity of social organisation and coexistence, it is an intellectual withdrawal from the delusion of grandeur of a society obsessed with rationality, security, efficiency, predictability and competition. In its disdain for complacency, it is a consolatory practice of leaving the comfort zones constructed around strategies of conformism, positivism, populism and profitism. But as an active state of resignation, melancholy is not evasive. Its decadence is in the eyes of the conformists. Layered on reflexivity as an ethical experience, it feels the anger towards the detached. And as a meta-state of concern, it is aware of the fragile potential of intellectual solidarity among the capable, and of the melancholy of the capable as vulnerable.

Melancholy is practicing the aesthetics of imperfection, decadence and uncertainty, although with a constant awareness of – and care for – the possible of human possibilities.

 

// tAI // 2nd World Conference on the Value of Melancholy in Times of Cheap Commitment

Posted on By Gaston Meskens

title

Programme

The draft conference programme is now available! Check it out: conference programme.

Programme overview

programme

Revisiting Melancholy

Robert Burton published the first edition of his magnum opus ‘The Anatomy of Melancholy’ in 1621. His aim was to write a definite and comprehensive study of the meaning of melancholy. His book promised to explain ‘.. What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Philosophically, Medicinally, Historically, Opened and Cut Up…’. What looks at first sight as an exhaustive analysis of melancholy as a disease to be cured is in fact much more. Burton uses melancholy as a perspective to inquire into all human emotions and thought. In that sense, the Anatomy can also be seen as a total encyclopaedia of the human condition of that time.

Our modern times may now inspire us to re-read that meaning for the contemporary human condition, although not through a systematic re-interpretation of the encyclopaedic classes and categories, but on the basis of one simple idea….

Melancholy is not depression neither pessimism. Drawing on interpretations from the pre-modern Romantic and Decadent Era, it can be described as the aesthetical consolation that comes with the awareness of the impossibility of pure beauty, unity and harmony, and of the inevitability of imperfection, decadence and uncertainty. The idea however is that melancholy is not a detached but an ethical experience, and that this became apparent with modernity: melancholy is the human condition resulting from a deliberate awareness of the limits to rational instrumental reason in a context of social appeal. That social appeal may either be love, friendship or lust, or social or political engagement. The implications of modernity rendered melancholy with a social meaning: the impossibility of pure beauty, unity and harmony, and of the inevitability of imperfection, decadence and uncertainty, is not experienced by way of detached observation, but in a reflexive way in social interaction.

In this vision, the ‘end state’ of melancholy is still aesthetical consolation. But that state is not passive, as it arises from an ethical demand. In its recognition of the intrinsic ambiguity of human interaction and of the inherent complexity of social organisation and coexistence, it is an intellectual withdrawal from the delusion of grandeur of a society obsessed with rationality, security, efficiency, predictability and competition. In its disdain for complacency, it is a consolatory practice of leaving the comfort zones constructed around strategies of conformism, positivism, populism and profitism. But as an active state of resignation, melancholy is not evasive. Its decadence is in the eyes of the conformists. Layered on reflexivity as an ethical experience, it feels the anger towards the detached. And as a meta-state of concern, it is aware of the fragile potential of intellectual solidarity among the capable, and of the melancholy of the capable as vulnerable.

Melancholy is practicing the aesthetics of imperfection, decadence and uncertainty, although with a constant awareness of – and care for – the possible of human possibilities.

 

robert burton

// tAI // Workshop ‘Art and Activism in the Age of Populism, Positivism and Profitism’ at the Rijksakademie Amsterdam

Posted on By Gaston Meskens

artandactivism

The fate of activism through art is that, in order for it to generate controllable social or political effect, it would need to become social work or politics itself. On the other hand, the artistic act of critical withdrawal will eventually appeal to a non-conformist audience, but it will not bother those cynically detached subjects of critique. The ‘impossible position’ of artistic activism is not that of a dilemma between withdrawal or contribution; it is that of a dwelling in a twilight zone between those two positions. In a constant awareness of the conditions and implications of agency, it is a state of hyper-reflexivity that, at the same time, also works as a ‘critical mirror’ towards the cynically detached. As a deliberate state of engagement and an active state of resignation, that position at the periphery of the artist’s comfort zone is also ultimately melancholic.

Friday 27 May 2016, 11:00 – 13:00

Workshop initiated and moderated by Gaston Meskens

See the slides of the introductory lecture here: the-politics-of-ambiguity-27-may-2016-gaston-meskens

 

Questions for the discussion:

“… If politics have become performative, so too has knowledge – in other words, you have to share what you know. Researchers and scientists who feel a sense of political urgency to disseminate their findings might use the skill sets of symbolic manipulation and performance in order to get their message out. Similarly, we find numerous artists and collectives who deploy aesthetic strategies to spread their message. For example, Ala Plástica’s research‐based environmental activism focuses on the damage caused when a Shell Oil tank collided with another cargo ship in the Rio de la Plata. Over 5300 tons of oil spilled into this major Argentine river. Using photography and drawings, and working with local residents to conduct surveys, the collaborative deploys techniques of socially engaged art in order to bring this issue to light. …”

(Nato Thompson in ‘Living as Form –Socially Engaged Art from 1991 –2011’ p 24)

 

Q         What is critical socially engaged art ‐hereafter called activist art –and how does the presupposed political function of its ‘aesthetic strategies’ works within and outside of the artistic realm?

Q         What is the ‘added value’ of activism through art?

Reflecting on the art practice referred to in the text fragment above, one might wonder why this example of socially engaged artis characterised as art and why and how this artistic intervention is then different from ‘normal’ activism. While today more and more artists profile themselves as social worker or as political activist, the question of what the ‘added value’ of activism through art would be remains largely untreated. The argument that motivates this text and dialogue initiative is that reflecting on that question and formulating answers to it is relevant, as well for art as for political activism as such, and this not only for the example referred to above, but also for other contexts (countering social and political oppression of women and minority groups, acting against social and ecological exploitation by big corporations, revolt against political or religious dictators, questioning the justification of risk‐inherent technologies such as genetic modification or nuclear energy, …). In other words: the discussion on art as activism is not exhausted yet. On the contrary. The following reflections may suggest in which way and for what reasons that discussion is still relevant.

>>       As suggested by the text fragment, also scientists and politicians apply techniques of ‘symbolic manipulation and performance’ to underpin and strengthen their messages. However, in the case of science and politics this practice would by definition be considered as suspicious while in the case of art it isbydefinition not. On the other hand, while science, politics and art may formulate arguments about the same reality, the example suggests that art, in the interest of its case of concern, wouldalso need to be ‘objective’ to a certain degree in order to make a ‘credible’ and appealing point.

Q         What is the value and meaning of objectivity and credibility in activist art and how do they differ from objectivity and credibility in science and politics?

>>       The local residents living around the Rio de la Plata see the artist’s work (the photos, drawings and surveys) as a tool that would need to help them in their fight for justice with respect to the pollution that endangers their health and the environment. For the artist, the produced work obviously also figures inthe own art practice. It is part of what will become a ‘documented performance’ of which the documentation will end up in portfolios, art exhibitions and art books. Very seldom, this kind of documentation mentions in which way the artistic intervention has actually contributed to challenging and eventually solving the social issue; a concern that is essential for the local residents.

Q         To what extent is the activist artist co‐responsible for the pursuit of social justice in the specific context of critical engagement? And when does the artist, in that engagement, transgresses the boundary between art and politics? What is that boundary?

 

// tAI // show “Another Day in September – Life at the Institut Weich-Fehler (1924 – 1952)”, Kris Gevers & Gaston Meskens

Posted on By Gaston Meskens

ideology as a thousand dreams

Opening 29 April 2016 6pm

Praetoria, Pretoriastraat 38, 2600 Berchem, Antwerpen, Belgium

Open Sat / Sun 2 – 6pm from 30 April to 22 May 2016

Artist talk on Friday 6 May 2016 at 8:30pm

Het Institut Weich-Fehler für kritische Philosophie der Psychologie (1924 – 1952).

In 1924 richtten de filosofen Line Weich en Ulrich Fehler het Institut Weich-Fehler für kritische Philosophie der Psychologie op. Het onderzoeksprogramma van het Instituut wou een filosofisch tegengewicht vormen tegen de rationalisering en de verwetenschappelijking van de psychologie die zich toen begon te ontwikkelen. Het instituut nam zijn intrek in een leegstaande fabriek in Altenberg, een kleine gemeente ten zuiden van Dresden, tegen de grens met Tsjechië. Het instituut gebruikte zowel Duits als Engels als werktaal, en al snel verzamelde zich een internationale groep van sociale en humane wetenschappers rond Weich en Fehler. In de eerste jaren na de oprichting werkten ze samen een onderzoeksprogramma uit dat vermaard werd voor de alternatieve kijk op psychologie.

Volgens Weich en Fehler kan de mens gezien worden als een reflectieve geest ‘opgesloten’ in een natuurlijk lichaam. Als mens reflecteren we over onszelf en zijn we ook in staat om dingen te doen tegen onze natuur in, en daarom kan de mens ook beschouwd worden als een ‘eindtoestand’ in de evolutie. Daarbij komt ook nog dat onze mogelijkheden om ons betekenisvol uit te drukken ‘primitiever’ zijn dan onze capaciteiten voor reflectieve interpretatie. We kunnen elkaar nooit volledig begrijpen omdat we geen ‘toegang’ hebben tot de geest van de ander. Menselijke interactie en communicatie verloopt via metaforen en symbolen waarvan we nooit kunnen weten hoe de ander ze ‘aanvoelt’ en begrijpt. Daarom kunnen mensen ook niet in bepaalde typologieën ingedeeld worden maar zijn we allemaal unieke wezens. Weich en Fehler stelden dat de onvermijdelijke ambiguiteit waarmee elke omgang en communicatie tussen mensen gepaard gaat niet noodzakelijk een bron van onbehagen moet zijn, integendeel. Het respecteren van elkaars ‘onvermogen’ om rationeel en duidelijk te zijn over alles wat ons behaagt, opwindt, beangstigt, beklemt, verblijdt of ontroert maakt net een ‘esthetiek van de ambiguiteit’ mogelijk die als de ware zin van het (samen)leven kan beschouwd worden.

De sociale en humane wetenschappers van het Institut Weich-Fehler zagen het als hun taak om die visie op de mens en de samenleving filosofisch uit te werken, als tegengewicht tegen een psychologie die de mens reduceert tot een ééndimensionaal type en een instrument ten dienste van zelfgenoegzame politieke en economische macht. De wetenschappers begonnen echter in te zien dat hun argumenten geen weerklank vonden in de rest van de academische wereld, en de onzekerheid in verband met de kernideeën van het onderzoeksprogramma nam toe omdat ze ook nooit zeker waren dat ze elkaar goed begrepen. Net voor de tweede wereldoorlog beslisten Weich en Fehler dat de dingen radicaal anders moesten. Ze doekten het Instituut op en verhuisden met het gehele team naar Zwitserland. Ze namen hun intrek in de leegstaande gebouwen van een vroegere kunstacademie, aan de voet van de Aiguilles Rouges d’Arolla, met zicht op het Lac Des Dix . Daar, omringd door de bergen en afgesloten van de rest van de maatschappij, probeerden ze een nieuwe wending aan hun onderzoek te geven. De focus bleef filosofisch, maar ze begonnen te experimenteren via kunst.

Op een dag in september in 1952 ontspon er zich tijdens de gewone vergadering van de raad van bestuur andermaal een discussie over het voortbestaan van het instituut. De raad van bestuur pleitte nogmaals voor een definitieve heroriëntatie van het onderzoeksprogramma, meer in lijn met de algemene wetenschappelijke trend. In de Verenigde Staten was net de eerste versie van de Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders gepubliceerd, en de raad wees erop dat het meer dan ooit het moment was om mee te dingen naar onderzoeksfondsen van commerciële sponsors en de overheid. Line Weich en Ulrich Fehler weigerden die dag opnieuw om in te gaan op de eis van de raad, en ze kondigden daarop het definitieve einde van het bestaan van het Institut für kritische Philosophie der Psychologie aan.

De wetenschappers trokken weg en de gebouwen werden al snel daarna ontruimd. Line Weich en Ulrich Fehler namen elk een deel van de bibliotheek en de duizenden onderzoeksartefacten mee, en de rest raakte verspreid en grotendeels verloren. Ulrich Fehler keerde terug naar zijn geboortestad Berlijn, hield zich bezig met schrijven en overleed in 1961. Line Weich trok op uitnodiging van New York University naar de Verenigde Staten om er een leerstoel in de filosofie op te nemen. Ze overleed daar in 1972. De onderzoeker F.K.A. Fritzsch was net als de meeste van zijn collega’s gefrustreerd en verbitterd door de gang van zaken en nam zijn collectie schilderijen niet mee bij zijn verhuis naar Poitiers. In ons onderzoek naar de geschiedenis van het instituut trachten we ook zo veel mogelijk originele onderzoeksartefacten terug te vinden, en we konden de schilderijen van Fritzsch terugvinden in de stockageruimte van een veilinghuis in Montreux. Ze worden in deze tentoonstelling voor de eerste maal getoond, samen met een selectie onderzoeksartefacten uit de collectie van Line Weich en Ulrich Fehler.

Gaston Meskens, Kris Gevers, 29 April 2016

 

another day in September

 

// tAI // show “10 Years Of (life at the Institute of Idle Curiosity for Elements of Seduction)”

Posted on By Gaston Meskens

thesplit- small

Opening Friday 29 April 2016, 6 – 11pm

The AnteRoom, serving as LAMART OFFSPACE, Kattenberg 93, 2140 Borgerhout – Antwerp

Open 29 april – 15 May 2016 on Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 6pm

See also www.lamart.be

The research programme of the Institute of Idle Curiosity for Elements of Seduction is concerned with the way human beings deal with the uncertain, the complex and the unknown in social and political interaction. The basis of the research is a critical theory that targets strategies of positivism, populism and conformism in social, cultural, scientific, economic or political contexts, but the programme essentially wants to go beyond critical analysis as such. The aim is to research alternative human interaction modes that go beyond the traditional confirmative patterns of our current co-existence. The Institute claims that the human being would in principal be able to nurture an idle curiosity ‘at the peripheries of social cohesion’, and live an alternative life inspired by the aesthetics of ambiguity in private social interactions and by the ethics of transparency in public political interactions.

The Institute of Idle Curiosity for Elements of Seduction was officially established in April 2006, after a dark period of disorder, doubt, dysfunctionality and chaos. Over the last 10 years, many people have come to the Institute to wander, reflect, drink and talk. Some stayed, others left again. But they will come back.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Institute, the AnteRoom opens its doors for an exclusive insight into the daily life at the Institute. The public will have a unique opportunity to see research artefacts and documents that normally never leave the archives. In addition, a photo screening specially made for this occasion will show scenes from the life of the researchers that were never shown before. The soundtrack with the screening was created by TRAGIC REALIST FICTION (Juliane Borths and Gaston Meskens) especially for this occasion.

 

 

// tPhC // Contribution to the workshop “Evolution, Consciousness and Altruism”, The New York Society for Ethical Culture, New York

Posted on By Gaston Meskens

altruism3

On 12 April 2016, the New York Society for Ethical Culture organised the workshop “Evolution, Consciousness and Altruism: Steering Toward the Omega Point” in New York City with the aim to reflect on the meaning of altruism from a scientific, ethical and spiritual perspective. The workshop centered around the book Does Altruism Exist?  Culture, Genes and the Welfare of Others (Dr. David Sloan Wilson, The Yale/ Templeton Series on the Foundational Questions of Science)” and was introduced by the author. I was invited to make a contribution to the workshop based on my research on ethics and global governance.

See the long version of the text of my contribution: an-ethics-of-care-for-our-modern-co-existence-gaston-meskens-contribution-to-the-altruism-roundtable

altruism2

See more background info at https://evolution-institute.org/article/steering-toward-the-omega-point-a-roundtable-discussion-of-altruism-evolution-and-spirituality/

See the video of the first panel here (my contribution runs from 12:05 until 17:45)

 

 

// tPhC // Confirmed dates and venues of the spring and early summer 2016 Philosophical Activism tour

Posted on By Gaston Meskens

workshop on human rights - photo gaston meskens

There we go again. Confirmed dates and venues of the spring and early summer 2016 Philosophical Activism tour. Let me know if you are around with time to go downtown.

Bhopal, India, 29 – 30 March

Raipur, India 31 March – 2 April

Warsaw, 6 – 8 April

New York, 9 – 14 April

Barcelona, 18 – 19 April

Cape Town, 7 – 14 May

Berlin, 21 – 23 May

Madrid, 24 – 25 May

Bucharest, 1 – 4 June

Kuopio, Finland, 6 – 10 June

Stockholm, 12 – 15 June

Ottawa, Canada, 19 – 22 July

Hangzhou, 25 – 28 July

Shanghai, 29 – 31 July

More destinations may be added soon. Watch this space.

insights-10

insights-2

the PhɅAct Collective – Vigilant to suspicious use of poetical concepts in political context

 

the philosophical activism tour – previous interventions:

Paris, 30 November – 11 December 2015, UNFCCC conference
Representing the Constituency of Research Oriented and Independent Non-governmental Organisations to the UNFCCC at the 21th United Nations climate change conference (21th session of the Conference of the Parties and the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meet ing of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol)

Jülich, 17 – 18 December 2015, Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Campus Jülich
Invited seminar on ethics

Lisbon, 14 – 15 December 2015, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon
EUROFUSION Socio-Economic Studies meeting

Madrid, 24 – 25 November 2015, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Invited seminar on ethics

Tokyo, 12 – 13 November 2015, UNU Workshop “Understanding and communicating risks post-Fukushima” United Nations University Headquarters
Invited lecture ‘Beyond paternalism and strategy: understanding radiological risks as a mutual learning experience’

Delft, 9 November 2015, Technical University of Delft
Invited lecture ‘Werkcollege ethiek en stralingsbescherming’

Paris, 4 November 2015, NEA Headquarters
Meeting of the NEA Forum on Stakeholder Confidence

Seoul, 20 October 2015
Invited lecture on ethics at the 2015 World Conference of the International Commission on Radiological Protection

Bratislava, 9 October 2015, Slovak Parliament
Invited lecture ‘Etické vhl’ady a reflexie energetiky: analýza pripadových štúdií – Interaktivny workshop’

Bratislava, 8 October 2015, Goethe Institute
Invited lecture ‘Overcoming the Framing Problem – Critical reflections on the EURATOM R&D programme and on the consequences for the PLATENSO Project’

New York, 25 – 27 September 2015, United Nations Headquarters
United Nations Summit to adopt the post-2015 development agenda

Tokyo, 20 – 22 September 2015, The 2015 Citizen-Scientist International Symposium on Radiation Protection
Invited lecture ‘“The Right to be Responsible” – Ethical reflections on risk assessment in post-nuclear accident situations’
Invited lecture ‘The Consolatory Practice of Leaving – On reflexivity as art activism in the age of populism, positivism and profitism’

Tokyo, 18 September 2015, Sophia University
Invited lecture ‘Dealing with low dose radiological risk: The challenge of striving for democratic justice and societal trust and peace in the absence of scientific evidence’

Uppsala, 4 August 2015, WNU Summer Institute
Invited lecture ‘The trouble with justification: exploring the ethical dimensions of risk-inherent energy technology assessment’

Paris, 24 June 2015, IYNC Conference
Invited lecture ‘The Trouble with Justification – In search of an ethics of method for energy governance’

Brdo, 18 June 2015, Ricomet Conference, Brdo Castle
Invited Lecture ‘On the ethical imperative of self-reflection in radiation protection research’

Fukushima, 2 June 2015, Fukushima Medical University
Invited lecture ‘”The Right to be Responsible” – Ethical reflections on risk assessment in post-nuclear accident situations.’

Nagoya, 4 June 2015, United Nations University Chubu Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development
Invited lecture ‘”The Right to be Responsible” – Ethical reflections on risk assessment in post-nuclear accident situations.’

Tokyo, 5 June 2015, International Peace Research Institute, Meiji Gakuin University
Invited lecture ‘”The Right to be Responsible” – Ethical reflections on risk assessment in post-nuclear accident situations.’

Delft, 1 – 2 June 2015, University of Delft
Lecture ‘Nuclear Energy in its socio-political context’

Stockholm, 25 27 May 2015, SENIX Conference
Invited lecture ‘Beyond Controversy and Diplomacy – An Ethical Perspective on Energy Governance’

Sofia, 21 April 2015, Center for the Study of Democracy
Organisation of the workshop ‘The Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment’

Bucharest, 26 March 2015, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Philosophy
Organisation of the workshop ‘The Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment’

Sofia, 24 March 2015, Center for the Study of Democracy
Preparatory meeting for the workshop ‘The Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment’

Dublin, 25 February 2015, Trinity College
Invited lecture at the Workshop ‘Lightening the Dark Side of Science’

Madrid, 4 – 6 February 2015, Technical University of Madrid
Invited lecture at the Second European Workshop on the Ethical Dimensions of the Radiological Protection System

New York, 20 – 25 January 2015, United Nations Headquarters
Sustainable Development Goals Post-2015 Negotiating Session and meeting of Forum 21

Münich, 15 – 16 January 2015, bundesamt für strahlenschutz Campus
Interventions on ethics and radiological protection, OPERRA Project

Athens, 19 – 20 December 2014,
Invited seminar on ethics (part of the Postgraduate Educational Course on Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources of the International Atomic Energy Agency)

Lima, 1 – 12 December 2014, UNFCCC conference
Representing the Constituency of Research Oriented and Independent Non-governmental Organisations to the UNFCCC at the 20th United Nations climate change conference (Twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties and the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meet ing of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol)

Jülich, 1 – 2 December 2014, University of Aachen
Invited seminar on Ethics

Amsterdam, 27 November 2014, Rijksakademie Amsterdam
Invited lecture ‘The Consolatory Practice of Leaving – On reflexivity as art activism
in the age of populism, positivism and profitism’ at the Rijksakademie Open 2014 event

Barcelona, 25 – 26 November 2014
The Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment – Working meeting of the PLATENSO project

Bucharest, 20 November, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Philosophy
Invited lecture ‘An ethical approach to issues of democracy and science as policy advice in the context of (nuclear) energy policy’

Antwerp, 19 november 2014
Invited lecture ‘Welkom in het tijdperk van de reflexiviteit’ at the stRaten-generaal congres “Democratie Vandaag – Nieuwe mogelijkheden voor overheid en burgers”

Durham (UK), 30 – 31 October 2014, Durham University
3rd Workshop on Philosophical Activism

Barcelona, 10 October 2014
Kick-off meeting of the EUROFUSION Project 2014 – 2018

New York, 22 – 28 September 2014, United Nations Headquarters
United Nations General Assembly

Oxford, 22 July 2014, Christ Church College, Oxford University
Lecture ‘The trouble with justification – Exploring the ethical dimensions of risk-inherent energy technology assessment’ at the World Nuclear Association Summer Institute

Burgos (Spain), 10 July 2014
Workshop ‘The Trouble with Justification’ at the IYNC Conference

Ghent, 26 – 27 June 2014, University of Ghent
Lecture ‘Are there workable worldviews for global governance?’ at the Internation Global Studies Conference ‘Critical and interdisciplinary perspectives’

Budweiss, 17 – 19 June 2014
Workshop on the Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance with the European OPERRA researchers network.

Bratislava, 16 June 2014
Lecture ‘Ethical Foundation of Energy Governance’ for the Ministerial Plenary of the European Nuclear Energy Forum

Warsaw, 12 – 13 May 2014, Civitas College, Warsaw Palace of Culture
Workshop ‘Exploring the science, politics and ethics of nuclear technology assessment’

Madrid, 5 – 6 June 2014 (date tbc), Technical University of Madrid
Lecture The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance for master students

Warsaw, 12 – 13 May 2014, Polish Ministry of Economy
Preparation of te workshop ‘Exploring the science, politics and ethics of nuclear technology assessment’ with the European PLATENSO researchers network

Ramapo (New Jersey), 5 April 2014, Ramapo College
Workshop – Converging on a peoples transformative agenda for sustainable development post 2015

New York, 31 March – 4 April 2014, United Nations, UN Headquarters
10th UN OpenWorking Group on the Sustainable Development Goals

New York, 1 – 8 February 2014, United Nations, UN Headquarters
8th Meeting of the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals

Rome, 27 – 28 January 2014, Istituto Superiore di Sanità
Meeting on the need for stakeholder involvement for the European OPERRA researchers network

Aachen, 22 January 2014, Technical University of Aachen
Lecture The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance for master students

Milano, 16 – 18 December 2013, University of Milan
1st European Workshop on the Ethical Dimensions of the Radiological Protection System

Munich, 10 – 11 December 2013, Max Planck Institute
Project The Politics of Hypothesis – discussion

Luxemburg, 3 December 2013, European Commission
Intervention at the meeting of the European Nuclear Energy Forum

Manchester, 27 – 28 November 2013
Lecture The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance for managers

Warsaw, 16 – 22 November 2013, UNFCCC conference
19th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Ghent, 25 October 2013, University of Ghent
Organisation of the 2nd workshop on Philosophical Activism, CEVI, University of Ghent

Brussels, 9 – 10 October 2013,
Workshop on the Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance with the European MELODI researchers network.

Bratislava, 25 – 26 September 2013
Track ‘The Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment’, kick-off meeting of the European Commission PLATENSO research project

New York, 21 – 24 September 2013
Participation in a set of meetings on the Millennium Development Goals, the Post-2015 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, organised by civil society and the United Nations

Barcelona, 19 September 2013
Lecture ‘Social Research On Fusion – Dialogues with stakeholders working at the research-policy interface’ at the Satellite Meeting on the Socio-economic dimensions of Fusion Energy

Brussels, 11 September 2013
Organisation of a panel discussion ‘Researching radioactive waste governance and environmental remediation: constructing a credible story of societal relevance’ at the 15th International Conference On Environmental Remediation And Radioactive Waste Management

London, 6 September 2013
Track ‘The Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment’, meeting on stakeholder involvement in the context of the European Commission 7th Framework Programme Research Project OPERRA.

Ljubljana, 18 – 22 August 2013
Track ‘The Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment’, kick-off meeting of the European Commission EAGLE research project

Vienna, 24 – 26 July 2013
Lecture ‘The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance’, International Atomic Energy Agency Meeting of Directors of the Postgraduate Educational Course on Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources, IAEA headquarters.

Vienna, 11 – 13 June 2013
Meeting of the Blue Frog Society (an activist art collective based in Vienna).

Paris, 17 – 18 June 2013
Lecture ‘Reflection on the meaning of ethics related to radiological protection’, Kick-off meeting of the European Commission 7th Framework Programme Research Project OPERRA.

Buenos Aires, 25 April 2013
Lecture ‘The Trouble with Justification’, seminar ‘Nuclear Policy in Argentina and the World’, organised by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Argentina in cooperation with the Argentinian Universidad de San Andrés and the Argentinian Universidad Nacional de San Martín.

Brussels, 8 – 10 April 2013
Lecture ‘Lecturing ethics in courses on radiological protection and nuclear engineering’, Symposium of the Belgian Association of Radiological Protection.

Tunis, 27 March 2013
Organisation of the workshop ‘The human rights principle for sustainable development governance’, World Social Forum 2013, University Campus El Manar

Bonn, 20 – 22 March 2013
Participation in the Global Civil Society Organisations Conference ‘Advancing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda’, organised by the Berlin Civil Society Centre.

Vienna, 13 March 2013
Lecture ‘Considerations on Ethics in Radiological Protection Education and Training’, European Nuclear Society International Conference on Education and Training in Radiological Protection

Prague, 27 February 2013
Lecture ‘The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance’, Technical University of Prague.

Mol, 22 February 2013
Lecture ‘The Ethics of Justifying Nuclear Technology Applications’, International Course on ‘Radiation-induced effects with particular emphasis on genetics, development, teratology, cognition as well as space-related health issues’.

Brussels, 20 – 21 February 2013
Organisation of a workshop ‘Exploring the Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment’.

Ghent, 15 February 2013
Organisation of the first workshop on Philosophical Activism & Lecture ‘When Poetry becomes Suspicious – On the need for philosophical activism for global governance’, CEVI Workshop on Philosophical Activism, University of Ghent

Tokyo, 29 January 2013
Lecture ‘The human rights principle for sustainable development governance’, Earth Systems Governance Tokyo Conference ‘Complex Architectures, Multiple Agents’, United Nations University Headquarters.

Ghent, 18 January 2013
Lecture ‘The Human Rights Principle for Sustainable Development Governance’ at the Centre for Sustainable Development of the University of Ghent.

Luxemburg, 19 December 2012
Discussion interventions at the European Nuclear Energy Forum Symposium, European Commission Luxemburg offices.

Manchester, 10 December 2012
Lecture ‘new adventures in knowledge transfer’, Workshop “Knowledge transfer – building bridges between generations”, European Nuclear Conference

Paris, 7 December 2012
Discussion interventions at the Workshop “Nucléaire et Sciences Sociales Après Fukushima” organised by the French National Council for Scientific Research CNRS.

Brussels, 4 – 5 December 2012
Discussion interventions at the European Roundtable on the implementation of the Aahrus Convention in the context of nuclear safety, organised by the European Economic and Social Council of the European Commission.

Paris, 12 November 2012
Moderation of a discussion on the normative grounds for scientific research as part of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) Workshop of the European Radioecology Alliance.

Berlin, 5 October 2012
Lecture ‘A politics of confrontation for sustainable development governance’, Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change, Free University of Berlin.

Rome, 19 September 2012
EFDA Modelling Assessment Workshop: organisation of a workshop on the critical analysis of the usability of computer modelling assisted scientific foresight in the frame of energy governance, as part of the Socio-Economic Research on Fusion programme under the EC European Fusion Development Agreement.

Brussels, 21 August 2012
Opinion essay “Energiebeleid, zonder de mythes, met of zonder Doel 3 – Over de mythes dat er een rationele logica zou bestaan voor risicobeheer en dat de vrije energiemarkt de motor van energiebeleid kan zijn.” Opinion essay for the newspaper De Morgen, finally withdrawn at own initiative.

Charlotte (US), 5 – 10 August 2012
Interactive Workshop on the Ethics of Technological Risk Governance

Rio de Janeiro, 11 – 23 June 2012
Organising a workshop on a human rights based approach to sustainable development and working on the Equity Treaty at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development.

London, 25 – 29 March 2012
Presenting the “The Possibility of global Governance” Project at the Conference “Planet Under Pressure”

New York, 18 – 24 March 2012
United Nations Rio+20 Summit Intersessionals at the UN HQ

Ghent, 12 March 2012
Workshop “After 9/11 ‐ The Politics of Terror and the Terror of Politics”, Centre for Ethics and Value Inquiry, University of Ghent

Madrid, 5 – 6 March 2012
The Ethics of Technological Risk Governance – Meeting on Transdisciplinarity in Education and Training

Brussels, 21 – 22 February 2012
Organised workshop “Exploring the Science, Politics and Ethics of Nuclear Technology Assessment”

Warsaw, 12 – 16 February 2012
Presentation “Public Reflexivity and its discomforts” at the ENS PIME Conference

Munich, 24 – 25 January 2012
Preparing an Energy Modelling Assessment workshop for the European Fusion Development Agreement Socio-Economic Research on Fusion programme

New York, 15 – 20 January 2012
United Nations Rio+20 Summit Intersessionals at the UN HQ

Madrid, 10 – 13 January 2012
The Ethics of Technological Risk Governance – Meeting on Transdisciplinarity in Education and Training

Cape Town & Durban, 28 November – 11 December 2011
United Nations Climate Change Conference

New York, 13 – 18 December 2011
United Nations Rio+20 Summit Intersessionals at the UN HQ

Geneva, 10 – 11 October 2011
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development conference

Bonn, 3 – 5 September 2011
64th Annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference “Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens”

Kuala Lumpur, 9-10 May 2011
Invited lecture “The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance”, International Course for Inspectors organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency

Brussels, 27 April 2011
Invited expert to the Meeting of the Working Group on the Ethics of Nanotechnologies of the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (programme & participants)

Brussels, 11 April 2011
The Trouble with Justification’, invited lecture in the ‘Aarhus Convention and Nuclear Energy’ symposium organised by the University of Brusels and SCK-CEN

Cyprus, 28 – 30 March 2011
Coordination of Reflection Group on “Establishing a transdisciplinary knowledge base for nuclear safety and radiological protection”

Karlsruhe, 28 March 2011
Invited lecture “The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance”, Karslruhe Institute of Technology

Karlsruhe, 21 March 2011
Invited lecture “The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance”, Karslruhe Institute of Technology

Lisbon, 14 – 16 March 2011
Invited lecture “The Ethics of Radiological Risk Governance”, ITN – Institute for Nuclear Technology, Lisbon

New York, 6 – 8 March 2011
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development Preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Cancun, 29 November – 10 December 2010
United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP16 & Kyoto Protocol COP/MOP 6

Lisbon, 10 – 12 Nov 2010
Lecture “The Last Paradigm? Deliberate Visions on a Sustainable World” at the International Conference “Intellectual Topographies and the Making of Citizenship”, University of Lisbon

Ghent, 18 – 19 Oct 2010
Research interactions at the International Conference on “Moral Responsibility – Analytic Approaches, Substantive Accounts and Case Studies”, Centre for Ethics and Value Inquiry, University of Ghent, Belgium

New York, 20-24 Sept 2010
Study visit

Paris, 15 September 2010
10Y Anniversary Colloquium of the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence in Radioactive Waste Governance

New Haven, 17-19 Sept 2010
Lecture “Governance Through Better Relativism – Seven Challenges to a Future Climate Change Debate” and research interactions at the 2nd Yale-UNITAR International Conference on Environmental Governance and Democracy, Yale University

Vienna, 22 – 24 June 2010
Invited contribution to the Technical Committee Meeting on Public Perception of Fast Reactor Technology, International Atomic Energy Agency

Barcelona, 28 May 2010
Start-up meeting of the Integrated Sustainability Assessment of Energy Governance project

Princeton, 08 May 2010
Debating the Nuclear Weapons Convention – Observing and reporting on the preparation of a negotiations simulation exercise by 20 international students

New York, 01 – 10 May 2010
United Nations Review Conference on the Non-Proliferation Treaty

New York, 01 – 10 May 2010
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development 18th session

Luxemburg, 08 April 2010
Contribution ‘Research analysis of the Belgian radioactive waste governance approach’ to the EC European roundtable on the Implementation of the Aarhus Convention

Palermo, 09 March 2010
Invited lecture ‘Beyond the search for truth – analysing what complicates the societal justification of nuclear technology’ for the EC ICARO Course [pdf]

Brussels, 19 March 2010
Invited lecture ‘The Ethics of Energy Governance’ for the EU-40 Group

Ghent, 5 March 2010
Lecture ‘The Possibility of Global Governance’ at the Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy [pdf]

Brussels, 23 February 2010
Research interaction at the EFONET Workshop

Brussels, 30 January 2010
Invited statement on the ethics of participatory decision making in the context of radioactive waste governance at the Public Forum organised by the King Baudouin Foundation

Copenhagen, 7 – 18 December 2009
United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP15 & Kyoto Protocol COP/MOP 5

Garching, 26 November 2009,
Max Planck Institute Meeting on the future research needs in the frame of the Socio-economic Research on Fusion (SERF) programme of the European Fusion Development Agreement of the EC

Lisbon, 8 – 11 November 2009
Invited lecture on “Lecturing ethics in courses on radiological protection and nuclear technology assessment: feedback on 5y of academic experience”

Sevilla, 27 – 30 October 2009
Invited lecture on “Transparency and Public Acceptance – a critical analysis of the complexity of nuclear technology assessment”, Annual conference of the Spanish Nuclear Society

Cumbria, 19-21 October 2009
CARL Workshop on the future research in social sciences and humanities on societal aspects of radioactive waste governance

Paris, 7 – 8 October 2009
Research contribution on the “European Guidelines for Inclusive Radioactive Waste Governance” in the frame of the Cowam in Practice project

Helsinki, 23 – 25 August 2009
Research contribution “Theoretical Perspectives on Participation and Democracy” to the ARGONA project

Paris, 6 – 7 July 2009
Research interactions at the CIPAST conference “Governing Uncertainty: The Contribution of Social Sciences to the Governance of Risks in Environmental Health”

Bucharest & Constanta, 17 – 19 June 2009
Lecture on ‘The Ethics of Inclusion and Compensation’ in the frame of the Radioactive Waste Governance research programme

Stockholm, 5 – 11 June 2009,
VALDOR Conference Lecture ‘Happenings at the science-policy interface – The case of radioactive waste governance’ (pdf)

Cordoba, 19 – 25 May 2009,
EYGN Forum Invited lecture on ‘Aspects of Participation and Transparency in Nuclear Technology Assessment’ (in the frame of the project ‘A Philosophy of Justification – the case of technology assessment’ (pdf)

Bergen, Norway, 10 – 12 May 2009,
World Social Science Forum presentation of the research outline of the project ‘The Possibility of Global Governance’

Paris, 23 – 25 March 2009
International Chambre of Commerce Headquarters Research interactions at the ICC Energy and Environment Commission

Uppsala, 16 – 19 March 2009
research interactions and input on the future European research policy on Risk Governance

Lisbon, 8 – 14 March 2009
Erasmus IP ICARO Course, University of Lisbon, ITN Lecture ‘Ethics and the Principle of Justification – the case of Nuclear Technology Assessment’

Manchester & St Bees, 9 – 13 February 2009
Research interactions on policy approaches in the frame of Inclusive Governance of Radioactive Waste

Berlin, 22 – 25 January 2009
Research and writing travel

Stockholm, 13 – 14 January 2009
Update research ‘Theoretical Perspectives on Participation and Democracy’, ARGONA project

Paris, 8 – 9 January 2009
Research interactions on the future European research policy on Risk Governance

Poznan, 01 – 12 December 2008
Research work at the 13th Conference of the Parties, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Paris, 24 October 2008
Discussion meeting on the Aarhus Convention in the context of governance of radioactive waste

Barcelona, 16 – 17 September 2008
Lecture on ‘Democratising the Science-Policy Interface’, EC FP6 OBRA Final Conference

Bucharest, 10 – 11 September 2008
Intervention on Aspects of Democracy in Inclusive Governance of Radioactive Waste – the Romanian context

Prague, 3 – 5 September 2008
Lecture – status update on the ‘Theoretical Perspectives of Participation and Democracy’ project

London, 26 – 27 June 2008
Intervention in the ENS Board meeting on research culture in nuclear technology assessment

Paris, 18 June 2008
Discussion on policy approaches in the frame of Inclusive Governance of Radioactive Waste

Prague, 13 – 14 June 2008
Lecture – status update on the ‘Theoretical Perspectives of Participation and Democracy’ project

Paris, 10 June 2008
Intervention on Aspects of Democracy in Inclusive Governance of Radioactive Waste – the French context

Porto, 24 May – 1 June 2008
Research and writing travel

New York, 09 – 17 May 2008
UN Headquarters Research work, CSD15, United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development

Budapest, 04 – 07 May 2008
NESTet Conference Lecture ‘Transdisciplinary Aspects of Education and Training in Radiological Risk Governance’

Bucharest, 14 – 16 April 2008
Intervention on Aspects of Democracy in Inclusive Governance – reflections on risk compensation

Nusa Dua, Bali, 3-14 December 2007
Research work and invited lectures on the use of knowledge in global decision making on complex problems, 13th Conference of the parties, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Paris, 23 May 2007
Conference ‘Intellectual capital for communities in the knowledge economy’

New York, 1-11 May 2007
United Nations Headquarters Research work, CSD15, United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development

Stockholm, 25 April 2007
Discussion meeting on research work ‘Theoretical perspectives on participation and democracy’

Lisbon, 23 March 2007
University of Lisbon Invited lecture on ‘Risk, transpareny and free choice – On the complexity of risk inherent technology assessment’

Prague, 7 February 2007
Technical University of Prague Invited lecture on ‘Ethical aspects of risk inherent technology applications’

Rauma (Finland), 2 February 2007
Vuojoki Castle Workshop and debates on deliberative democracy and stakeholder involvement

Amsterdam, 8 December 2006
Centrum De Brakke Grond Public statement on the clash between art and science on the occasion of the theatre piece ‘De utopie van het atoom’, in cooperation with Cie De Koe

Stockholm, 22-23 November 2006
Start research group on ‘Theoretical perspectives on participation and democracy’, ARGONA Project

Nairobi, 8-17 November 2006
Research work, COP12 Conference, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Ghent, 28-29 September 2006
Conference ‘Social Sciences and Democracy’

Prague, 13 September 2006
Invited talk on ‘A transdisciplinary approach to education and training’, 10th EAN Workshop

Stockholm, 21 June 2006
Workshop moderator ‘The Politics of Sustainable Development’

Brussels, 18 May 2006
Public talk on ‘The Art of Knowledge’, together with the author Kader Abdollah, Homo Universalis series, Vlaams-Nederlands Huis De Buren

Stockholm, 15-18 May 2006
Public statement on ‘The philosophy of risk and injustice’, VALDOR Conference

New York, 8 May 2006,
NY University, Dept Political Philosophy Workshop ‘Another state is possible’

New York, 2-12 May 2006
United Nations Headquarters Research work, CSD13, United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development

Ghent, 27-29 April 2006
Ghent University Conference on Global Ethics in Political Philosophy

history 1999 – 2006 is in archives – no time to complete the list

insights-1

 

// tA // New paper – Beyond Paternalism and Strategy: Understanding Radiological Risks as a Mutual Learning Experience

Posted on By Gaston Meskens
Public session on Fukushima, United Nations University, 15 November 2015, Tokyo, Japan
Public session on Fukushima, United Nations University, 15 November 2015, Tokyo, Japan

This working paper is an output of the Fukushima Global Communication research workshop “Understanding and Communicating Risks Post Fukushima”, held in Tokyo on 12–13 November 2015. The workshop brought together international experts to explore the specific challenges of understanding and discussing risks related to nuclear accidents, and identify appropriate and effective forms of risk communication. It was published in the Fukushima Global Communication Programme Working Paper Series (Number 15 — December 2015) of the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU‑IAS).

See https://theacademiaforum.wordpress.com/2016/02/20/paper-beyond-paternalism-and-strategy-understanding-radiological-risks-as-a-mutual-learning-experience/

 

// tAI // PERPLEXION

Posted on By Gaston Meskens

On 15 November 2015, we organised the PERPLEXION event in Tokyo, with contributions from Japanese video artists and the screening of (and live music performance with) our film “A Journey into the Land of the 4th Dimension”.

15 November 2015, 14h30 – 17h30, SAKAIKI (綜合藝術茶房 喫茶茶会記), 2-4 Daikyōchō, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyo

venue website: gekkasha.modalbeats.com

event flyer: flyer PERPLEXION

 

 

FILM PROGRAMME

Black and Japanese Red 「黒と朱」
(2014, 10 min)

Koichi Watanabe

Cast – Motoko Hirayama / Concept and Planning – Koichi Watanabe / Director – KOMEI

RC
(2014, 15 min)

Satoshi Furuya ＋ Makoto Kubota

Cast – Keisuke Oka, Akane Saito / Music – Kinako / Visuals – Satoshi Furuya & Makoto Kubota

Live music performance with the film screening by Kinako

objet a
(2010, 3 min 52)

Wataru Iwata

A Journey into the Land of the 4th Dimension
(2013, 55 min)

Gaston Meskens

A film byTRAGIC REALIST FICTION, featuring MELVIN SHAKUN (Gaston Meskens), MARY H. ACKER (Sarah de Graeve) and JAMES DYER (Mauro Pawlowski), inspired on the book “A Journey into the Land of the Fourth Dimension” by Gaston de Pawlowski.

Music – Mauro Pawlowski & Gaston Meskens / Visuals – Gaston Meskens

Live music performance with the film screening by Wataru Iwata (piano) and Gaston Meskens (guitars, sequencers)

Photos by Cécile Brice

« l’imbuvable source », « Transhumance », « La lune dans le caniveau », « âme en fuite», « l’échappée du temps », « séparé »

Photomontages realised after a series of interviews with Fukushima citizens housed in temporary residencies in the aftermath of the nuclear accident

 

perplexion05

live music with the film A Journey into the Land of the 4th Dimension, Wataru Iwata (piano), Gaston Meskens, synth, guitar

perplexion