Online Colloquium 87: Building Social Ecological Cultures of Care

Date and time
Duration
2 hours
Location
Online via Zoom
Referent

Krini Kafiris

Details

Care, a term with long histories, has become something of a buzzword across different contexts and institutional settings in the last decade—ostensibly as a response to the global interlinked crises underway and systemic failures to mitigate or even address them. Yet what care is, or should be, in different settings and places is a complex issue, especially taking into consideration limitations posed by socio-political contexts, institutional constraints, and social imaginaries.

During the colloquium, Krini Kafiris will discuss a social ecological approach to care, defining it in terms of the interconnectedness of individuals, groups, communities and the ecosystem. Building cultures of care is conceptualised as deepening the connections necessary for individuals, groups, communities and the ecosystem to flourish, within contexts of limitation and constraints. This approach draws from foundational social ecological, ecosystemic and feminist concepts, as well as the practices of sustainable organising and her own experiences in this as an educator.

After outlining the fundamental concepts, she will discuss how they can be put into practice within groups and collaborations. Finally, we will explore the obstacles that often emerge when building social ecological cultures of care and how these might be best addressed.

Shortbio
Krini Kafiris

Krini Kafiris is an educator, activist and researcher in sustainable organising, gender issues and social ecology. She focuses on reflective and creative practices in building cultures of care and sustainable organising. She founded Sympoiesis, which provides workshops, mentoring and consulting in these areas, is a member of the Transnational Institute of Social Ecology and  co-founder of Radical Institute, a transnational programme for sustainable organising, collaborating and mentoring in the arts. She has worked as an educator and trainer in several European countries for a wide range of participants. Her background includes participating in feminist groups, the social solidarity economy in Greece and teaching media/communication at British, Cypriot and Greek universities. She trained in sustainable organising at Ulex Project, Gaia Education Design for Sustainability and Regeneration- Social Dimension, community organising with the European Community Organizing Network, and creative writing at Mikro Polytexneio. She holds a Certificate in Autoethnography: A Qualitative Research Method from Bradley University and a DPhil in Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Sussex.