Newsletter #3 – July 2024
Welcome storytellers and story-listeners!
As we head towards the summer break, we’d like to take a moment to share some of the projects we’ve been working on. In these times of profound transformation, we are reminded that true change is always deeply personal, beginning with the resolve of individuals and spreading through the collective efforts of dedicated groups. Our journey is guided by the understanding that wisdom is cultivated through embracing diverse perspectives. Our aim transcends mere incremental improvements and strives for holistic, systemic change. We recognise that we are all shaped by our own experiences and the contexts in which we live. Thus, we continually challenge our assumptions and engage in meaningful dialogue, connect dots, and foster our capability to imagine, narrate, and prepare for more wiser alternatives.
The World Forum for Women in Science we organised reinforced, for example, our belief that there is hope, lots of hope, and potential embodied by changemakers around the world who are researching and working towards a more equal and sustainable future. At the same time, it made clear the critical need for networks and communities that support, connect, and empower these efforts. This is where we want to continue focusing in the coming months.
We are incredibly grateful to all our partners, friends, and supporters. Together, let’s continue to grow into a global community of dreamers and doers, united in our pursuit of a brighter tomorrow.
The World Forum For Women In Science 2024
In April, we held the World Forum for Women in Science, organised by Traces&Dreams as the partner of the Women in Science Without Borders Initiative in collaboration with the Fondazione Musica per Roma / Festival delle Scienze. This year’s conference, ‘Envisioning Tomorrow: Science for the SDGs and New Partnerships for Sustainable Futures’, emphasized the crucial role of science in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and focused on fostering knowledge exchange, dialogue and collaboration among researchers worldwide to envision the paths to a more equal and sustainable future.
The online conference fostered knowledge sharing and conversations on central and strategic scientific questions at a global level, while giving visibility to relevant and cutting-edge research.
Through (31) plenaries, panels and technical sessions held online over three days, the conference hosted more than 160 researchers from around the world, exploring topics ranging from zero hunger (food and agriculture); good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; climate action; partnerships for the goals; and science diplomacy. A panel discussion on ‘Narratives That Matter’, featured diverse speakers exploring key themes at the intersection of academia and journalism. Considering strategies to bridge gender gaps in STEM and innovate in science communication from a range of perspectives emphasised the global impact of inclusive narratives – a central aspect of our vision at Traces&Dreams.
The Forum continued with an in-person networking event at Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, where panels discussed the conference’s overarching themes, including challenges and opportunities for women in science, diplomacy and collaboration, science for sustainable futures and “envisioning tomorrow”. Speakers emphasised the importance of multidisciplinary partnerships in addressing global problems, such as food security, climate change, difficulties in policy making, and social injustice. Initiatives empowering women scientists and fostering collaborative environments were explored, drawing insights from gender and public policy research in different countries. The World Forum for Women in Science was a dynamic platform for international knowledge exchange and a symbol of a growing community working for a wiser and more equal tomorrow. For a detailed overview, you can explore the Reader, which compiles abstracts from speakers on a wide range of scientific topics, alongside essential presentations from guests and participants. The Reader will be available on the website and through the event’s official publication channels.
May saw the culmination of our Erasmus+ co-funded project for schools, Fair News.Emphasising the importance of critical thinking and media literacy for democratic society, we worked with high schools in Austria, Bulgaria, Italy and Romania to enhance students’ abilities in recognising bias, identifying trustworthy sources of information, and navigating and contributing to the contemporary media landscape.
The project’s results include a report on the creation and development of educational communities using methodologies of Theory of Knowledge and Media and Information Literacy, a framework for innovation pathways in the use of Theory of Knowledge among high school students, the Fair News Guide providing resources for the creation and dissemination of ‘fair news’, and a digital newspaper created by participating students from the four countries. Dissemination events were held in each country, including the final conference at the beautiful halls of Palazzo Pucci, Florence, and an online workshop led by Nerina Finetto, founder and director of Traces&Dreams, on media literacy and critical thinking. Find out more and download the project results at fairnews.eu.
As we enjoyed Sweden’s light June evenings, the Future Narratives partnership came together in Stockholm for a training and collaboration event dedicated to developing the Future Narratives Curriculum for youth workers, educators and practitioners. Building on the success of the methodology designed through our first project, we now aim to create a systematised curriculum transferable to diverse contexts across Europe. During our time together, we explored ways to broaden and deepen the Future Narratives approach, which combines storytelling and narrative analysis with Futures Literacy to empower young people in imagining and creating positive futures.
We considered how to foreground our open-minded, inclusive and constructive approach to the training of youth workers, and the key topics and methods to be incorporated in our training programme. Pilot training of youth workers will begin in September, before the new generation of Future Narratives practitioners lead their own workshops with young people. Partners, participants and young people will come together at the inaugural Future Narratives Festival in Ferrara, Italy, next spring – visit futurenarratives.eu for the latest news.
My Story – Bringing young people together through storytelling
Our collaborative project with Sollentuna Library, in Sweden, seeks to empower young individuals to explore their narratives and dive into various forms of storytelling. Beyond encouraging individual expression, our initiative aims to create stronger community ties among the youth of Sollentuna. At the heart of this initiative is the mission to provide a dynamic platform for young people to express themselves through different forms of storytelling.
We began in May with an introductory meeting, where we discussed together with the participants how we hope to shape the direction of these workshops. The young people also got to share their own expectations and preferences, which led to an engaging discussion about what they hoped to gain from the sessions and the types of activities they wanted to include. In our first workshop, participants experimented with three types of storytelling: telling a story, singing or rapping, or playing theatre. In the second workshop, we embarked on a journey of creativity as we aimed to foster imagination and self-expression. With brushes in hand and minds wide open, the youth were tasked with expressing their personal narratives through painting, focusing on the future. It was an exploration of not just colours and strokes, but also of hopes, dreams, and aspirations.
Our storytelling project with Sollentuna Library is a testament to our commitment to empowering young individuals, fostering community bonds, and unleashing creativity. By combining storytelling with unexpected challenges and creative workshops, our project stands as a beacon for youth empowerment, showcasing the transformative power of storytelling and shared experiences. As this journey unfolds, we anticipate it will leave a lasting impact on the youth of Sollentuna, creating a community of empowered storytellers and collaborators.
Future Framed – Our collective YouTube Channel
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Our YouTube channel is for people interested in the past, passionate about the present and curious about the future. FutureFramedTV is where you can find inspiration through a multidisciplinary and multi-regional perspective. Our vision is to make the big questions and dreams of today’s researchers visible. We interview researchers from different disciplines and countries to get their perspectives on their work, their views on life, their “whys”, their motivation and their wishes.
Dr Connie Nshemereirwe in conversation with Dr Neil Guerrero González
🎙️ Conversations on education are a series of short conversations recorded in Kigali, Rwanda in the frame of the Annual General Meeting of the Global Young Academy 2023. They are part of our podcast A is not for Apple, about #education in Africa and beyond hosted by Dr. Connie Nshemereirwe. #futureframedTV This is episode number 9. In this episode, you will meet Dr. Neil Guerrero González . Since 2016, Neil has been an Associate Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and currently, he holds the position of Vice-Chancellor of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia at Manizales Campus. He is interested in researching and teaching on the topics of signal processing for optical communications, extending connectivity to rural areas and engineering teaching – education. He received his electronic engineering degree and his master’s degree in industrial automation from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and his PhD in photonics engineering from the Technical University of Denmark. Neil has experience in the industry of telecommunications (Huawei European Research Center in Munich – Germany and CPqD in Campinas – Brazil) for more than 5 years.
https://www.youtube.com/c/tracesdreams
We wish you a summer of peace and restoration, and look forward to sharing more stories soon!
Warm regards,
The Traces&Dreams Team
