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Future Africa Transdisciplinary (TD) Dialogue
July 11 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
The University of Pretoria’s Future Africa (FA) invites you to a Transdisciplinary (TD) Dialogue titled “Why Global Transdisciplinarity: What Should We Be Talking About?” with Professor Roderick Lawrence from the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
RSVP by 8 July 2024: RSVP here
The dialogue will be moderated by Professor Coleen Vogel from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), South Africa.
For more information, please contact Dr Hester du Plessis at hester.duplessis@up.ac.za
Abstract
Transdisciplinarity goes beyond the co-production of knowledge and problem-solving. It is an attitude and a way of being, thinking, and. acting in relation to others and the world. This dialogue will address fundamental concerns that need attention if transdisciplinary projects are to be upscaled for greater societal impact. Topics to be explored include: The importance of creative and critical thinking to better understand and respond to societal challenges, the added value of transdisciplinary inquiry, rethinking the purpose of science, TD achievements: Innovative beacons for change, amongst others.
Speaker
Roderick Lawrence (B. Arch (Hons), MA, D.Sc.) was nominated Professor in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Geneva in 1999. He was promoted to Honorary Professor in October 2015. He was Visiting Professor at the Institute for Global Health at the United Nations University(UNU-IIGH) from 2014 to 2016. He was the founding Director of the Certificate for Advanced Studies in Sustainable Development at the University of Geneva from 2003 until 2016, and Director of the Global Environmental Policy Program (GEPP) from 2010 until 2016. He was a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences Network for inter – and transdisciplinary research (2009-2020). He is the author of Creating Built Environments: Bridging Knowledge and Practice Divides (Routledge, 2021) and Editor of the Handbook of Transdisciplinarity: Global Perspectives (Edward Elgar, 2023) .