My PhD journey 7. Lisbon conference
It’s been a week since I returned from Portugal where I attended the 4th International Conference for the Social Solidarity Economy & the Commons at the University Institute of Lisbon. I met some good people, enjoyed conversing and listened to some affirming presentations. I left Blighty with plant agency casting its spell on my consciousness, feeling a little unsure about my academic journey. However, I soon felt that I had arrived at the right place at the right time.
The title of this year’s conference was Beyond the “Decarbonization Consensus”: The Ethics and Practices of Sympoiesis. This is what initially caught my attention. Sympoiesis is a term popularised (well amongst a small niche of academics) by Donna Haraway. It means making with. I like to think of it as no island is an island. Nothing creates or organises itself in a vacuum. That is difficult for us to conceptualise as our mortal selves can only comprehend beginnings and ends.
The conference was infused with a multispecies, more-than-human, decolonising discourse with an implicit agenda to explore alternatives to capitalism, de-centre the human and move beyond the Anthropocene. I don’t have the capacity to share all the interactions and conversations I had so I apologise to anyone I do not mention… and so I will summarise the best I can.
The opening session was delivered by Prof. Ana Margarida Esteves and I knew straight away I had found a community who share the same ethos and understanding of what non-human agency is and its importance in the wider landscape of diverse economies.
The keynote roundtable “Sustainability Beyond the “Decarbonization Consensus”: Technology, politics, society and sympoetic relations” had my head buzzing with Prof. Sigrid Stagl and Prof. Breno Bringel delivering their insights and setting the scene. Álvaro Fonseca of Degrowth Network Portugal diagnosed the polycrisis/permacrisis and its environmental / socioeconomic / psychosocial aspects. Explaining the meaning of degrowth and Sympoiesis whilst drawing on the work of Haraway and planthropologist Natasha Myers. I was resonating.
Finally Beatriz Martins Arruda, research group leader of CASA Brasil Ecovillage Network, shared her research on ecovillages. This was great to listen to and had some real overlaps with my Undergraduate fieldwork on similar communities in the South West UK.
After a break, where we were provided with absolutely delicious vegan snacks, I sat in a session and listened to Ângela Lacerda-Nobre spin philosophical webs around logical positivism; and Niki Puskas deliver her passionate and honest presentation that explored the importance of community. Niki asked the questions How can we transform human and non-human relations to change the world and how can we strengthen human and non-human relations to increase general wellbeing?
The afternoon session offered something a little different. Co-creating livable worlds: weaving together community art practices and ecological regeneration. Yes. Get in!
I walked in a few minutes late, the tables had been arranged at the side of the classroom, André Fausto played Song of a Tree on a classical guitar in lush meditation.
The attendees were moving in circles connecting with each other. We were joined by an olive tree and various other non-humans. This was to be a collaborative sensory experience.
First we heard from Álvaro Fonseca on Nurturing an ecological ethics and aesthetics. This was followed seamlessly by Graça P. Corrêa delivering her presentation Eco-Empathy, or towards a co-creative sympoietic embodied relation with more-than-human environments which led us perfectly to Permaculture designer and educator Sílvia Barbosa’s part of the proceedings. She spoke about intimacy and our relationships with plants. We were invited to commune with the Olive Tree. Other plants were passed around for us to touch and smell. Jars of seeds were handed around the circle and we were encouraged to take a few with us to share. Damp dried grass entangled with mycelium felt and smelt divine. A smell I am familiar with and love. I had a moment with the bowl of compost, running my fingers through this pleasingly soft, soily substance. Silvia informed us that the compost was result of her own composting toilet. A five year process turning human waste into a valuable material vital to our survival.
A communal feeling emerged from this session. By the end of day one I was exhausted. Navigating the public transport system I arrived back at my apartment around 8pm. A 14 hour day from when I awoke. I realised then my plans to get out and see Lisbon may not be quite what I imagined.
Day two began with “Echoes of Animism” Chiara Baldini, Rune Jijarno Radmussen and Tom Henfrey providing a more esoteric and mythical perspective. This was followed by the days panel sessions where I managed to catch Corinna Burkhart’s presentation on self-organising workshops before dipping out to make time for a short catch up with my dear friend, Lisbon born visual anthropologist Fernando Antunes Amaral. We hadn’t seen each other for 12 years but it was like no time had passed at all…. both of us still on it!
I returned to listen to Ekatherina Zhukova’s brilliant presentation Towards a Decolonial Degrowth Feminism in Feminist Foreign Policies. Ekatherina took us all on a deep dive into the many complexities of this topic. Afterwards my mind was at capacity and I still needed to reserve some energy for the social later on that evening so I headed back to rest my head for an hour.
Before I knew it night time was upon me and I was walking to the restaurant for the conference social — a meal and high spirited chatter ( there is some pictures out there somewhere). I sat opposite Tom Henfrey and we discussed plant spirits; and to my right, Joana Canelas, whose anthropological research would reveal itself to me the following morning. I joined a small group who snuck out for a cigarette. The warmth of Miria Gambardella and Lara Monticelli lit up the space; I felt in very good company.
By the final day I was really hanging in there. I managed to get myself up to attend Lara Monticelli’s presentation as part of the keynote “Reconciling Mind, Heart and Matter: Experience-based learning for socioecological regeneration and democratic deepening”. Lara’s plea was impassioned and dynamic, asking us to pay explicit attention to the rise in authoritarianism and 21st century fascism. When discussing the topics foregrounded at this conference we must be explicit and make that connection, always paying attention to the dark forces of neoliberalism. I stayed long enough to listen to Jonas Egmose engage the auditorium before I needed to take a break.
With a lack-of-sleep headache coming in from the West I attended my last session on the Friday morning before lunch. First up was Tibor Zoltán Dáyni of The Research Group for Solidarity in Architecture. His presentation We All Need A Home combined design, recycled materials and affordable community built housing for homeless folks, was truly inspiring.
And finally … Forest Mothers: Pluriversal Multispecies Ontologies in Storied Landscapes. I was really excited about this one. Joana Canelas, who I had been deep in conversation with the night before , presented her fieldwork. She had spent a significant amount of time with the Shawi and Ticupa communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Joana took us on a beautiful storied journey into the forest showing the relationship the indigenous peoples have with the plants in their community; referring to what Eduardo Kohn calls the ‘Ecology of Selves’. One thing that really spoke to me was how the indigenous folk ask the forest permission when they want something. I have been thinking a lot about consent. How humans are not very good at asking for consent with each other let alone with the non-human world. Yet, I believe this is a fundamental step towards honouring and respecting the non-humans we co-create the world with.
I spoke in length with Joana later in the afternoon and listened to her speak of the Shawi and Ticupa’s complex relationship with tobacco. Such fascinating knowledge.
With that, the conference came to a close and I had one more night left in Lisbon.
I ventured out into the warm night air. The city was alive. A fantastic sensory experience. Such a contrast to what I’m used to in the UK. Early on I found myself in a taco bar speaking with a self proclaimed capitalist.
I admit I did declare myself an anarchist, or rather, a libertarian socialist. He was very inquisitive about the conference and my own thoughts on capitalism. Despite him showing off his €15000 Rolex watch, our conversation remained convivial and animated. He believed that capitalism had improved the lives of the majority of earth’s inhabitants and allowed him to be altruistic with some of his money. Our conversation gradually became more and more existential about capitalism’s destruction of the earth’s ecosystems and its inhabitants. It went something like … the universe doesn’t care if humans survive or not — which I am not convinced by, but anyways…. finally I appealed to his anthropocentric sensibility and asked him.
“Do you like art, music and dance. The smile of your children?”
“Yes of course!” he replied.
“Well then, what a shame it would be if the universe no longer had humans to experience and express the beauty and ugliness of existence…”
“But the Universe doesn’t care”.
“Ah, but I do”.
That’s kind of where we ended it.
Later I found myself in a bar listening and moving my hips to the sounds being made by some cool cats. I sat in on the bongos for a tune, before wondering slowly back up the hill to Rato to catch the metro.
Whilst anthropocentrism rages, with capitalism ravaging all of earth’s inhabitants both human and non-human, it can all feel a little hopeless. This is where connecting with community is essential.
Muito obrigado to Amandine and all those involved in the running of the conference.
I left Lisbon with a real sense of purpose and I hope to return again next year.
