The Integrated Study on Urban Agriculture as Heritage (INSUAH) team actively participated in the Global Issues Convention 2024, held from November 19 to 21 at the historic Herrenhausen Palace in Hannover, Germany. The convention, organized by the Volkswagen Foundation in collaboration with the Institute of Landscape Architecture at RWTH Aachen University, convened researchers from twenty projects under the “Global Issues – Integrating Different Perspectives” program. This program is a collaborative effort among six European foundations: Volkswagen Foundation, Compagnia di San Paolo, Fundación La Caixa, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, and Wellcome Trust. It aims to address global challenges through interdisciplinary research and generate insights into understudied global issues. The conference hosted 180 participants from around the world, with the INSUAH team engaging in enriching discussions with attendees from both the Global North and South.
During the poster session, where 20 research teams presented their projects, the opportunity to learn about the challenges faced by unfamiliar countries, as well as innovative research addressing these issues, proved to be inspiring. These interactions provided insights that will inform INSUAH’s future development.
The INSUAH team also organized two participatory workshops: “Harnessing the Power of Clashing Cultures” and “Heritage as Placemaking in Collective Exchange.”
- In “Harnessing the Power of Clashing Cultures,” a German card game, Mau-Mau, illustrated the confusion that can arise when different cultures interact and explored how adaptability can help navigate such situations. Participants shared personal experiences of cultural misunderstandings encountered in international collaborations, along with strategies they used to overcome these challenges.
- In “Heritage as Placemaking in Collective Exchange”, panelists addressed some key aspects of critical heritage studies within a transcultural framework by engaging the local situatedness of collaborative practices, decoloniality and intersectionality (gender, race/ethnicity, class), commoning and resilience. Team Brazil argued about how Indigenous and Black and Afro-diasporic communities produce their own sense of place by developing forms of social uses of space in specific geographic locations. By focusing on the agroforestry vegetable gardens in the periphery of Sao Paulo city East and South zones, field research has demonstrated how these traditional communities have challenged hegemonic epistemic orders. Placemaking, therefore, is a spatial affirmation concerning Indigenous and Afro-diasporic cosmologies, traditions, and knowledge. It is a strategy of social appropriation of space and resistance by the historically underrepresented communities that assert their spatial and temporal existence, and keep their ancestral ways of life.
During the convention, the INSUAH team shared insights from their case studies, highlighting the significance of urban agricultural heritage in sustainable urban development. They emphasized the integration of agricultural practices within urban settings and their role in enhancing food security, biodiversity, and social cohesion. This aligns with the United Nations’ agenda for sustainable development, which advocates for the harmonious consideration of urban development and heritage.
The Global Issues Convention provided a platform for INSUAH to engage with diverse researchers and stakeholders. The academic exchange strengthened networks among various research projects and promoted interactions with the six European foundations involved in the program. Key topics discussed included interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, and collaboration between the Global North and South.
INSUAH’s participation underscored the importance of integrating different perspectives on heritage and change, particularly in urban agriculture. By sharing their findings and methodologies, the team contributed to a broader understanding of how urban agricultural heritage can address global challenges such as urbanization, resource limitations, and food security.
The insights and connections gained during the Global Issues Convention 2024 are poised to enhance INSUAH’s research endeavors. The team remains committed to advancing the scientific framework of urban agricultural heritage and promoting its recognition as a vital component of sustainable urban development worldwide.
