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Blog/Noticias

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer

Cine Latino 2025 Highlights Indigenous Climate Guardians

12/5/2025

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Written by: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With collaboration from:
Lilian Eichorst - 
Research Assistant
Zahid Zamudio - Research Assistant

23 - 30 April 2025 - Tübingen, Stuttgart, Freiburg, Reutlingen
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From April 23 to 30, 2025, the Cine Latino film festival brought powerful cinematic and political insights from Latin America to audiences in Tübingen, Stuttgart, Freiburg, and Reutlingen. This year’s program featured a special thematic focus titled “Indigenous Amazonia – Guardians of the Climate?”, which emphasized the voices, struggles, and worldviews of Indigenous peoples protecting the rainforest.

A key moment of the festival was the panel discussion held on Saturday, April 26 at Café Haag in Tübingen, where filmmakers and experts shared their experiences and perspectives on Indigenous worldviews and environmental justice. Participants included Eriberto Gualinga (Helena de Sarayaku), Stephanie Boyd and Miguel Aroz Cartagena (Karuara, la gente del río), and participatory filmmaker Maja Tillmann Salas (The Rights of Mother Earth). They discussed how Indigenous communities—who inhabit some of the most biodiverse areas of the Amazon—understand the forest and rivers not as resources, but as living beings with rights. The Kichwa community of Sarayaku in Ecuador, for instance, promotes the concept of Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest), demanding legal recognition of the forest as a subject of rights. Similarly, the Kukama people in Karuara view the river as a spiritual entity deserving protection. This tension is also visible in Kinra, directed by Marco Panatonic, where the protagonist navigates between urban alienation and Indigenous identity. These Indigenous cosmologies—such as the Andean concept of Buen Vivir (Sumaq Kawsay), where all beings are alive and interconnected—stand in stark contrast to Western legal systems that define nature as property, object, or resource. Photos from the event can be found here.

Eriberto Gualinga’s documentary Helena de Sarayaku (Ecuador, 2022) opened this thematic focus with a moving portrait of 17-year-old Helena, who spends her school holidays in her community in the Ecuadorian Amazon. There, she witnesses the spiritual vitality of the rainforest and the threats posed by oil companies and climate change. She gradually emerges as a young activist, voicing her community’s struggles on a global stage.

Complementing this narrative, Karuara, la gente del río (Peru/Canada, 2024), co-directed by Stephanie Boyd and Miguel Aroz Cartagena, immerses viewers in the mystical and political world of the Kukama people along the Marañón River in Peru. While water spirits—the Karuara—dwell beneath the surface, the Kukama resist extractive threats above it. The film blends everyday life, myth, and striking animations, earning awards at festivals in Lima and Toronto.
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In her article “Im Einklang mit dem Regenwald” (In Harmony with the Rainforest) published in the Schwäbisches Tagblatt on April 28, 2025, journalist Dorothee Hermann emphasizes how these films not only document the lived realities of Indigenous communities but also reflect resistance, cultural continuity, and hope. According to the filmmakers, these stories are both mirrors and calls to action—urging broader recognition of Indigenous knowledge systems and struggles.
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The Cine Latino 2025 festival demonstrated that climate justice and Indigenous rights are deeply interconnected. Protecting the Amazon means listening to and supporting those who have safeguarded it for generations.
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Credits: Article “Im Einklang mit dem Regenwald” by Dorothee Hermann, Schwäbisches Tagblatt, April 28, 2025.
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PLURIVERSE 2025: Dialogues for a Just Future with Yuvelis Natalia Morales

12/5/2025

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Written by: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With collaboration from:
Lilian Eichorst - 
Research Assistant
Zahid Zamudio - Research Assistant
Photos by Emilia Campos

On April 5, 2025, franz.K in Reutlingen came alive with the energy of Pluriversum 2025, an extraordinary multimedia event combining political dialogue, Latin American music, and powerful visual art. This unique evening invited the audience to experience how global struggles for justice—especially the fight for environmental and indigenous rights—can be felt through sound, image, and story.

Moderated by Ecuadorian politician and activist Alberto Acosta and journalist Sandra Weiss, the event featured Grupo Sal, whose vibrant Latin American rhythms gave voice to social movements across the Global South. Artist Johannes Keitel contributed dynamic video-mapping projections that transformed the stage into a visual landscape of resistance and solidarity.

A moving highlight was the live video call with Yuvelis Natalia Morales, a 22-year-old environmental activist from Colombia and member of Alianza Colombia Libre de Fracking. Yuvelis recounted her fight against fracking in Colombia—a struggle marked by courage in the face of threats and political persecution. She powerfully reminded the audience that fracking is a global crisis, responsible for environmental destruction, water contamination, and the displacement of indigenous and rural communities.

The event invited the audience to recognize the Rights of Nature not just as a legal innovation, but as a necessary step toward reimagining human-nature relations and building a more just and sustainable world.

Through sound, visuals, and dialogue, Pluriversum in Reutlingen showed what it means to resist extractivism and amplify voices from the frontlines of environmental defense.

We thank our partner Grupo Sal and all collaborators for making this event possible. The event was funded as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments.

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Successful Completion of the Project "The Transformative Potential of Rights of Nature?" and Publication of the Workshop Report (2025)

28/4/2025

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Written by: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With collaboration from:
Lilian Eichorst - Research Assistant
Zahid Zamudio - Research Assistant
Micha Bröckling - Doctoral Student and Research Assistant
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Excited to announce the successful completion of the project The Transformative Potential of Rights of Nature? Struggling for Alternatives to Destructive Anthropocentric Development, funded by the RiSC program of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and Arts, and as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments.

As the final event of the project, we hosted the Knowledge Lab: The Transformative Potential of Rights of Nature? Perspectives and Synergies in Arts, Activism, and Academia (University of Tübingen, 23–24 January 2025)

Bringing together artists, activists, and researchers from Latin America and Europe, the Knowledge Lab explored interdisciplinary and arts-based approaches to Rights of Nature (RoN) and reflected on the political, legal, and cultural dimensions of systemic change. Through dialogues, performances, and critical exchanges, participants examined the transformative promises and challenges of RoN across different fields of practice.

We are delighted to share that the final Workshop Report is now available! It captures the diversity of perspectives, discussions, and creative interventions that took place over the two-day event and highlights key insights into how RoN can contribute to reimagining human–nature relations and promoting more just and ecologically sustainable futures.

The report also marks the closing of the project and the beginning of further reflections on the transformative potential of Rights of Nature in global and local contexts.

Warm thanks to all participants for their crucial contributions to this inspiring and vibrant space for collective thinking and imagining.
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We invite you to explore the full report!
DOWNLOAD REPORT
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WANTED: Student assistant (m/f/d) with German and English Skills (start 1 June 2025)

16/4/2025

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Junior-Professor for "Political Struggles in the Global South" is looking for a new student assistant from 1 June 2025 to support the project “Re-Staging Climate Assemblies” (April 2025-March 2027) in collaboration with Sheffield University, UK.

​​Re-Staging Climate Assemblies is an interdisciplinary project at the intersection of arts, humanities and social science perspectives on climate change and innovations in deliberative democracy. Through ‘re-stagings’ of citizen climate assemblies co-designed with youth diaspora communities in Sheffield, UK and Tübingen, Germany, it will collectively assemble a body of stories, tools and resources for more inclusive and just climate politics. The project will address engagement with underrepresented citizens within climate assemblies, acknowledging diverse ways of knowing and modes of deliberation. It will explore the potential of participatory arts-based approaches, notably scenario-making, for innovating within democratic processes and catalyzing transformative climate action.

We are looking for a student assistant with excellent organizational skills to support us in conducting literature research and building a contextual review, organizing and administering workshops, and communicating with the UK team. The interest in writing a BA or MA thesis on topics close to the project is encouraged.

Workload: 20 h/ month; Salary: 13,98 €/h (without degree), 14,87 €/h (with BA)

Tasks:
  • Literature search and administration of literature
  • Organization of events and workshops
  • Administration and writing of blog/website

Requirements:
  • B.A. or M.A. student, not necessarily in Political Science
  • Self-organized, responsible and structured work skills
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Excellent command of German and English

Please send your application with a brief 1-2 page CV and certificates by 30 April 2025 to: [email protected].
Interviews are planned for 7 and 8 May 2025.
Severely disabled applicants with equal qualifications will be given particular consideration.
​For any questions, do not hesitate to contact me via Email.

I look forward to receiving your application!
Job advertisement
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Successful Project Application for the British Academy's "Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research" Programme 2025

16/4/2025

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Written by: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With collaboration from:
Lilian Eichorst - Research Assistant
Zahid Zamudio - Research Assistant
Micha Bröckling - Doctoral Student and Research Assistant
Excited about the successful project application for the British Academy’s Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research Programme 2025! In collaboration with Prof. Renata Tyszczuk and her team from the University of Sheffield, we begin the project:
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Re-Staging Climate Assemblies (KF25\100465)
Re-Staging Climate Assemblies is an interdisciplinary project at the intersection of research on arts and humanities perspectives on climate change and innovations in deliberative democracy, Through ‘re-stagings’ of citizen climate assemblies co-designed with youth diaspora communities in Sheffield, UK and Tübingen, Germany, it will collectively assemble a body of stories, tools and resources for more inclusive and just climate adaptation and mitigation conversations. The project will address engagement with underrepresented citizens within climate assemblies and acknowledge diverse knowledges, insights and modes of deliberation. It will explore the potential of participatory arts-based approaches, notably scenario-making, for innovating within democratic processes and catalysing transformative climate action. The project directly addresses increasingly urgent demands at local, national and international levels for more inclusive, deliberative and active modes of citizenship in relation to climate change and just transitions. In doing so it puts social and environmental justice centre stage.
 
British Academy’s Knowledge Frontiers: International Interdisciplinary Research Programme 2025.
In collaboration with the University of Sheffield.
Team: Verena Gresz, M.A.
Funding: £292,355.00
Time: April 2025 – March 2027
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Knowledge LAB: The Transformative Potential of Rights of Nature? Perspectives and Synergies in Academia, Arts, and Activism

13/2/2025

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Written by: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With collaboration from:
Lilian Eichorst - Research Assistant
Zahid Zamudio - Research Assistant
Micha Bröckling - Doctoral Student and Research Assistant
On 23 and 24 January 2025, artists, activists and researchers came together at the University of Tübingen for the Knowledge Lab "The Transformative Potential of Rights of Nature? Perspectives and Synergies in Arts, Activism, and Academia.” This experimental thinking event, hosted by Riccarda Flemmer (University of Tübingen), Annette Mehlhorn (MPI Halle) and Cecilia Oliveira (RIFS Potsdam), engaged voices from the Global South and North to think about and discuss Rights of Nature (RoN).
After an introduction to the Knowledge Lab by Riccarda, which highlighted the broad potential but also the challenges of RoN, participants explored RoN as a transformative force from their respective fields and perspectives. The talks took us through forest exhibitions and dance performances, river initiatives, buen vivir activism, the crime of the Brumadinho Dam, as well as struggles against extractivism and RoN in Bolivia. After the talks, a discussion emerged around questions of human-nature relations and colonialism emphasising the need for decolonial perspectives, and transdisciplinary alliances.
The first day of dialogues finished with the ScienceArt performance “The Power of Imagination. Performing Rights of Nature” open to the general public. The event was conducted by Elisabeth Weydt (journalist), and the performance duo Jakob&Jakob (Jakob Schall, cello & Jakob Jautz, dance). Elisabeth read from her book "Die Natur hat Recht", 2023) in English showing music and images from the Ecuadorian Intag Valley and its struggle against mining extraction. In an interactive dance and musical improvisation performance of landscape memories by the audience, the performers Jakob&Jakob then guided the audience on a journey through the power of imagination, in which memories and stories about human-nature relations were explored. Volunteers from the audience shared remembrances about their experiences with nature, which were in turn interpreted and performed by the artists. To finalise, the journalist Elisabeth Weydt invited the public to reflect upon some of the challenges of our time and the power of Rights of Nature.

“The current ecological crisis is also a crisis of imagination. The Rights of Nature are a tool to re-train our imagination” – Elisabeth Weydt
​On the second day of the Knowledge Lab, participants came with renewed energy to continue their discussion and debate of perspectives on RoN criss-crossing theory, practice, and future trajectories. Interdisciplinary inputs on RoN in documentary film-making, tensions with animal rights and the limitations of ecological law, and the power of RoN in storytelling and the arts, gave form to new ideas and bridges between perspectives. A central theme emerged to imagine RoN as a “wedge” that may create or force open space for a deeper transformation of metaphysics, legal systems or capitalism. In the final session, participants came together in a collective round to cluster the contributions and structure a forthcoming book on the transformative potentials of RoN. After two days of productive debate and exchange, the lab closed with a resolve to forge a transdisciplinary, transformative future in the field of RoN.

Traducción al español: Knowledge LAB: ¿El Potencial Transformador de los Derechos de la Naturaleza? Perspectivas y Sinergias en la Academia, las Artes y el Activism

Escrito por: Jun.-Prof. Dra. Riccarda Flemmer
Con la colaboración de:
Lilian Eichorst - Asistente de investigación
Zahid Zamudio - Asistente de investigación
Micha Bröckling - Estudiante de doctorado y asistente de investigación


Los días 23 y 24 de enero de 2025, artistas, activistas e investigadores se reunieron en la Universidad de Tübingen para el Knowledge Lab "¿El Potencial Transformador de los Derechos de la Naturaleza? Perspectivas y Sinergias en las Artes, el Activismo y la Academia." Este evento experimental de reflexión, organizado por Riccarda Flemmer (Universidad de Tübingen), Annette Mehlhorn (MPI Halle) y Cecilia Oliveira (RIFS Potsdam), reunió voces del Sur y el Norte Global para reflexionar y debatir sobre los Derechos de la Naturaleza.
Tras una introducción al Knowledge Lab por parte de Riccarda, quien destacó tanto el amplio potencial como los desafíos de los Derechos de la Naturaleza, los participantes exploraron esta figura como una fuerza transformadora desde sus respectivos campos y perspectivas. Las presentaciones nos llevaron a través de exposiciones en bosques y actuaciones de danza, iniciativas en torno a los ríos, activismo por el buen vivir, el crimen del colapso de la represa de Brumadinho, así como las luchas contra el extractivismo y la aplicación de los Derechos de la Naturaleza en Bolivia. Después de las exposiciones, surgió un debate en torno a las relaciones entre humanos y naturaleza y el colonialismo, subrayando la necesidad de perspectivas decoloniales y alianzas transdisciplinarias.
El primer día de diálogos concluyó con la presentación artística-científica “El Poder de la Imaginación. Interpretando los Derechos de la Naturaleza”, abierta al público en general. El evento fue dirigido por Elisabeth Weydt (periodista) y el dúo de performance Jakob&Jakob (Jakob Schall, violonchelo & Jakob Jautz, danza). Elisabeth leyó fragmentos de su libro “Die Natur hat Recht” (2023) en inglés, acompañados de música e imágenes del valle de Intag en Ecuador y su lucha contra la extracción minera. En una improvisación interactiva de danza y música basada en memorias paisajísticas del público, los artistas Jakob&Jakob guiaron a los asistentes en un viaje a través del poder de la imaginación, explorando recuerdos e historias sobre las relaciones entre los seres humanos y la naturaleza. Algunos voluntarios del público compartieron sus experiencias con la naturaleza, las cuales fueron luego interpretadas y representadas por los artistas. Para finalizar, la periodista Elisabeth Weydt invitó al público a reflexionar sobre algunos de los desafíos de nuestro tiempo y el poder de los Derechos de la Naturaleza.

​“La actual crisis ecológica es también una crisis de imaginación. Los Derechos de la Naturaleza son una herramienta para reentrenar nuestra imaginación.” – Elisabeth Weydt (Traducido al español por los autores)
​En el segundo día del Knowledge Lab, los participantes regresaron con renovada energía para continuar el debate e intercambiar perspectivas sobre los Derechos de la Naturaleza, cruzando teoría, práctica y posibles trayectorias futuras. Aportes interdisciplinarios sobre los Derechos de la Naturaleza en la realización de documentales, las tensiones con los derechos de los animales y las limitaciones del derecho ecológico, así como el poder de los Derechos de la Naturaleza en la narración de historias y las artes, dieron forma a nuevas ideas y conexiones entre perspectivas. Surgió un tema central: imaginar los Derechos de la Naturaleza como una "cuña" capaz de crear o forzar la apertura de espacios para una transformación más profunda de la metafísica, los sistemas jurídicos o el capitalismo. En la sesión final, los participantes se reunieron en una ronda colectiva para agrupar sus contribuciones y estructurar un próximo libro sobre el potencial transformador de los Derechos de la Naturaleza. Tras dos días de intenso debate e intercambio, el laboratorio concluyó con la determinación de forjar un futuro transdisciplinario y transformador en el campo de los Derechos de la Naturaleza.
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PLURIVERSE 2024: Rights of Nature and the Mar Menor with Professor Teresa Vicente

9/11/2024

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Written by: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With collaboration from:
Lilian Eichorst -
Research Assistant
Zahid Zamudio - 
Research Assistant
Micha Bröckling - Doctoral Student and Research Assistant

Moderated by: Alberto Acosta and Sandra Weiss
Presentation by: Prof. Teresa Vicente
Musical Performance: Grupo Sal
Artistic Visuals: Johannes Keitel


The Derniere of the Pluriversum tour 2024
On October 16, 2024, Pluriversum 2024 drew a full audience at the University of Tübingen’s Pfleghofsaal, inviting attendees into a profound experience of dialogue, music, and visual art that celebrated the global Rights of Nature movement and its arrival in Europe. The multimedia event explored how communities worldwide are adopting new frameworks to recognize nature as a legal entity, emphasizing the importance of these rights as a response to the mounting climate crisis.

Moderator Alberto Acosta, former President of the Ecuadorian Constitutional Assembly 2007 and 2008 which recognised the Rights of Nature, along with journalist, translator, and ex-diplomat Sandra Weiss gave stage to Special guest Professor Teresa Vicente, lawyer, professor and activist from the University of Murcia in Spain who received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, the “Green Nobel Prize”, in 2024. Prof. Vicente was the leading campaigner in the fight to bestow legal personhood rights to the Murcian lagoon ‘Mar Menor’ in 2022 as Europe’s first successful “Rights of Nature” case. Visual artist Johannes Keitel created a collage of images from street art, activism and nature in his video-mapping projections that enriched the event weaving together performances, portraits, videos, photos, graphics, and quotes into a dynamic and immersive visual pluriverse. The Sextett Grupo Sal carried the audience through the evening blending the academic and activist interventions with Latin American and African music of famous composers, such Cape Verdean Cesária Évora, and their own creations providing an emotional and powerful soundtrack.

Spain’s Mar Menor: A Historic Victory for the Rights of Nature
Prof. Vicente shared the compelling story of Spain’s Mar Menor, the first natural entity in Europe to gain legal rights, thanks to the tireless efforts of local citizens and activists. Situated in the Murcia region, Mar Menor is Europe’s largest saltwater lagoon and a precious ecosystem that faced severe degradation due to intensive agriculture, mining, livestock activities, and infrastructural expansion. In October 2019, the lagoon was devastated when large masses of dead fish surfaced, a tragic wake-up call that spurred action among Murcia’s citizens.

Prof. Vicente highlighted how this disaster galvanized a massive social movement. Citizens launched a campaign that collected over 640,000 signatures, a remarkable feat that led to the adoption of a groundbreaking legislative initiative in September 2022. This law grants legal rights to Mar Menor, empowering residents to defend it in court and oversee its well-being through a representative commission, including activists, citizens, and local authorities.​

“At the heart of our planet is its ecosystem, not humanity.” (Prof. Teresa Vicente, translated by Zahid Zamudio)
This historic achievement was not only a first for Spain but for all of Europe, setting a precedent for recognizing natural entities as rights-bearing subjects. As Prof. Vicente described, the success of Mar Menor exemplifies a transformative model where nature’s rights are directly linked to democratic participation. This law enables any citizen to raise legal concerns on behalf of Mar Menor, placing environmental stewardship at the centre of community and legislative processes. Prof. Vicente’s reflections illustrated a growing awareness that human and ecological well-being are inseparably linked, advocating for similar initiatives across Europe and beyond.

Artistic Reflections and Global Solidarity
The musical performances by Grupo Sal interspersed the discussions with a blend of Latin American and African rhythms, bringing the evening’s themes to life through song. The artistic element continued with Johannes Keitel’s video projections, which visually narrated the pluriversal concept. Images, quotes, and scenes from diverse ecosystems and cultural symbols illustrated a vision of interconnected worldviews, drawing participants into the pluriversal message.
This event reinforced that respecting nature’s rights is not merely a legal shift but a moral imperative that will shape a just and sustainable future. In the closing words of Alberto Acosta on the potentials of Rights of Nature as a movement towards systemic overhaul in our thinking about human-nature relations.

Rights of Nature is not about isolated systems. We must rather think about Nature as a whole. And that requires a major shift, a civilizational shift. Therefore, it is not only a legal issue, but also an economic, cultural, social, and political issue. What we need is a democracy that conforms to ecology. In this context, the Rights of Nature help because we accept that we are nature, not just part of nature. (Alberto Acosta, paraphrase by Zahid Zamudio)
The event concluded with discussions among Acosta, Weiss, and Vicente, joined by a lively audience, followed by a final musical performance from Grupo Sal, with frontman Fernando Dias Costa’s smooth baritone bringing participants to their feet. The event left attendees inspired, capturing the sense of global solidarity that the Rights of Nature movement fosters.

​I would like to thank the Global Encounters platform, the Chair of ‘Political Struggles in the Global South’ and the Chair of Ethics, History and Theory of the Life Sciences (MNF) of Prof. Dr. Thomas Potthast as well as the German Postcode Lottery, the Weltethos Institut, FAIRStrickt, Terre des Femme, Club Voltaire, xäls and the ESG Tübingen for their kind support.

Funded as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments.
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Performance Art and Science Lecture meet in and with the Forest

8/11/2024

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​Retrospective of the Forest Events in July 2024 in the Schönbuch Forest

Written  by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With colaboration from:
Lillian Eichorst - Research Assitant
Zahid H. Zamudio Neme - Research Assitant
Micha Bröckling- Doctoral Student & Research Assistant
See also: https://www.jakobjautz.de/projekte/traces-1

The question "How can we as humans understand and be in connection with non-human living beings in our planetary ecosystem?" brought us together as a political scientist and a performance artist and dancer Jakob Jautz. Following this question, we blended a scientific lecture and performance art at various stations in and with the Kirnbachtal, Schönbuch Forest outside Tübingen. 
With the forest at the centre of the performance, we created a walk along several “stations” to encourage the participants to engage with the different ways of experiencing and knowing the connections between people and the more-than-human natural world. The creative process of planning the events was a rich experience in reflecting on how forms of academic, rational, emotional and embodied knowledge come into play when thinking, feeling and imagining connections between humans and more-than-human life. Adapting our university and theatre “indoor routines” to a space where trees, branches, moss, rocks as well as sun, rain, wind (and: mosquitoes!) set the stage, determine illumination and temperature, the way we dress and move. 
Jakob created traces over several years as a blend of land art, dance, circus performance - and tree climbing. He talked to biologists and foresters to learn about the least invasive ways to perform in forests, obtained a tree climbing licence, rethought what it means to dance and perform in and with the forest, tried out ways of moving and dressing, and read - fiction and non-fiction - and above all spent a lot of time in the forest. All these preparations appear in traces: The protective gear needed to climb trees and the reflection on how people dress up to be protected from nature. A poetic and intimate dance of climbing with closed eyes, after ten days of getting to know the tree. Skulls found in the different woods, reminding us of the passing of life. Reading a branch as a book and quotes from the famous work of the anthropologist Eduardo Kohn "How forests think" written skin of a birch. 
The stations I designed were a combination of academic lectures, storytelling and interactive sensory experiences with the forest. I based my interventions on an international database of Rights of Nature cases, UN documents, academic literature from political science, law, anthropology and sustainability studies as well as activist statements, campaign materials and interviews. However, all of this work is informed by the ways in which the Amazon rainforest has sensitised me to the deeply entangled and ever-changing coexistence of human and non-human beings. To adapt the lecture to the forest, I switched from a beamer presentation to printed posters, from slides filled with references to graphics and artwork from campaigns for Rights of Nature cases. Beginning with some insights into the conceptual and empirical foundations of Rights of Nature and their potential to prioritise and reform climate policy according to more holistic approaches to more-than-human ecosystems. Through inspiring cases from around the globe, I highlighted how the Rights of Natur movement seeks to spark a global socio-ecological transformation that recognises and protects the rights of ecosystems. Drawing on the Ecuadorian legal cases in favour of the Intag Valley against mining and oil extraction, the rediscovery of ten harlequin longnose frogs catapulted the species back from extinction and cemented the claim to protect the valley's biodiversity. Our visitors searched for 2,8cm stones to get a sense of how small you have to be to win a court case.
One of the main aims of our collaboration was to emphasise connections to our physically proximate human and non-human life as well as our entanglement on a global scale. The forest’s climate, a clearing, trees, the smell and sound of leaves and birds, with elements of performance art and science talk, were intended to create a space for collective and creative reflection on our planetary future. For both of us, these forest events were and still are about inspiration and hope.

We want to move away from a language steeped in the rhetoric of war and catastrophe towards constructive narratives, without "kitschifying" nature or falling into a reactionary "back to nature" rhetoric. Instead, hope needs space to accommodate grief over the current situation, the loss of species, people, and ecosystems, as much as the fascination and appreciation of the richness of the connections that exist on this planet. We belief on a personal and professional level that hope is an essential first step in imagining and shaping our future. Let us begin by believing that it is possible.

Photos by Eftychia Stefanou and Christoph Stoll
Poster English
Poster German
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"Lawyers of nature" The rights of nature as a theatre performance

2/2/2024

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​Written by: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With collaboration from: 
Verena Gresz - Doctoral Student and Research Fellow
Micha Bröckling - Research Assistant
Lina Weber - Research Assistant

The ongoing climate catastrophe and biodiversity loss have led to renewed attention to alternative conceptions of human-nature relationships. Politically, the notion of rights of nature has been at the forefront of rethinking humanity’s connection with nature. Starting in Latin America, more and more natural entities have been awarded legal personhood to protect them against anthropocentric exploitation. These cases challenge established patterns of conceptualising nature and humans as separate entities in law and leave us wondering: How can a dialogue between humans and nature be established? How can individual and collective interests of humans and non-humans be mediated? 

The Workshop
To approach these questions, the ensemble of the Theatre of the Anthropocene engaged in a dialogue with students of the Arts-Based Research (ABR) seminar taught by Jun-Prof Dr Riccarda Flemmer and Verena Gresz this winter semester at the University of Tübingen. Together with other researchers at the University, we engaged in a cross-disciplinary workshop to discuss the potential and pitfalls of alliances between science and art. The exchange brought to the fore how scientific data can inform artistic practices about the issues of our time, such as the climate crisis and the protection from environmental destruction. Further, it also demonstrated how creative - and in this case performative - engagement with academic topics is capable of opening up a range of new perspectives for learning, teaching, and co-generating knowledge through more diverse, pluralistic, and - after all - fun didactics.

Theatre Performance 
In “Lawyers of Nature”, the cross-disciplinary dialogue moved from the seminar room to the stage. The evening's host, Carrie Getman de Agudo, together with Kevin Mooney, guided the audience on an arboreal trip through the past, present, and future of the rights of nature. Every stop on this tour offered a novel and unique perspective on the guiding question of how to connect nature, human, and the law: a 1988 lawyer made the case for awarding Northsea seals legal personhood to sue the German state, a furious philosopher, Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, argued for his foresight in predicting the detrimental effects of anthropocentrism, and a futuristic mediator tried to find common ground between the different interests of the Spree river, politicians, and the locals. The fast pace of the play and its humorous tone gripped the audience's attention, provoked reflection and laughter alike, and made the evening a deeply memorable experience. 

The performance took place in cooperation with the University of Tübingen, Riccarda Flemmer Professorship "Political Struggles in the Global South". It was funded as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments.
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PLURIVERSE 2023: Book Launch with Arturo Escobar, Ashish Kotari, Ariel Salleh, and Nnimmo Bassy

23/10/2023

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​Written by: Jun.-Prof.Dr. Riccarda Flemmer
With colaboration from:
Micha Bröckling - Research Assistant
Lina Weber - Research Assitant
The Event
On 19 October 2023, we co-organised the book launch of the German edition of "Pluriverse - A Post-development Dictionary" which brought together political and academic voices from the Global South and North with musical performances and artistic video projections. This interplay between music, projections and political impulses allowed the pluriversal message to be experienced through all senses. 

The launch was embedded into Grupo Sal’s Tour Program "PLURIVERSUM- DISCOURSES FOR A JUST WORLD" which created an immersive event. The sextet with singer Fernando Dias Costa carried the audience through the event with Latin American rhythm, poetry, and playful musicality. 

Alberto Acosta, former President of the Ecuadorian Constitutional Assembly, together with the journalist and ex-diplomat Sandra Weiss, led through the event with the virtual presence of the book editors, Arturo Escobar, Ashish Kotari, Ariel Salleh, and Nnimmo Bassy, as well as guest activists from all over the world. 
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Video-mapping projections from artist Johannes Keitel transformed the stage into a visual pluriverse. The projections included - always thematically contextualizing -  performances, portraits, videos, photos, graphics, and quotes.
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The Book 
​In "PLURIVERSUM - Ein Lexikon des Guten Lebens für alle" (link to free PDF and for book orders), more than 120 authors present diverse economic, socio-political, cultural and ecological concepts, worldviews, and practices from around the world. "Post-Development" questions the prevailing Western development model and presents alternatives that protect and respect life on Earth: A Pluriverse of Many Possible Worlds, encompassing a variety of system critiques and ways of living.

This encyclopedia aims to re-politicise the ongoing debate on socio-ecological transformation by highlighting its multi-layered nature. The first English edition was published in India and has already been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, with other languages to follow. For the first time, the German edition makes this diversity of alternative lifestyles accessible to German-speaking readers as well. 

The book is an encyclopedia with short articles on key concepts. It can be used for teaching and research, to educate activists, academics and practitioners, to inspire the curious to take action - and can inspire those in power to new ideas.

This book was made possible by the commitment and unpaid collaboration of many as initiators, translators, proofreaders and proofreaders. Furthermore, thanks to a dedicated fundraising campaign to finance a large part of the production costs, this book can be distributed at a reasonable price.
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