The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a global plan of action “for people, planet and prosperity”, encompassing both social and environmental concerns. Participation of all members of society is central to meeting and monitoring the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
There is a wealth of existing knowledge around innovative ways of engaging with community members and stakeholders at a range of scales, in a variety of socio-economic contexts, and with a diversity of methods from more passive big data approaches, to mass participation citizen science to participatory action research.
The Participation Lab’s Second Annual Workshop, held on 30 June 2017, focused on Participation for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We explored how methods across this spectrum of approaches can be used to meet and monitor, and engage people with, the SDGs, as well as find synergies between them.
For more discussion of the SDGs and the debates and issues discussed in the workshop, see Samuel Poskitt’s Think-Piece reflecting on the day.
For further information about the themes discussed, see the Workshop programme.
Following the workshop, we co-hosted the Participatory Geographies Research Group (PYGYRG) Away Weekend in Reading, 1-2 July, 2017
The PYGYRG weekend away is a space in which we explore how we do our research and teaching. It is organised and led by participants. We tend to structure workshops around issues raised by people coming or run by people willing to share their skills and experience. It is as much about solidarity around doing radical research in the academy as it is around particular research methods. It is a space for thoughtful constructive discussions, meeting each other and having fun.
PYGYRG hosted the weekend events at the Reading International Solidarity Centre (http://www.risc.org.uk/).
For further information, see the PYGYRG website.