Academics and activists from all over the world met on September 10-12 in Prague to discuss how social science, specifically anthropology, can be helpful in solving the problems of today’s world. These discussions were part of the ninth edition of the Why the World Needs Anthropologists conference, this year with the title of Mobilizing The Planet, focused on the topic of activism and social movements. This year the conference programme was enriched with the wonderful innovation – the first edition of annual Apply Awards Ceremony, aiming to award the impacting projects using anthropological methodology and knowledge. On Saturday 11 September, the winning projects were awarded in two categories “The Annual Apply Awards” and “The Social Movements Awards”.
The Jury of Apply Awards is pleased to announce that we have selected the winning projects of “The Annual Apply Awards” and “The Social Movements Awards”. The award has seen its first time round and how exciting it was to read through such a wide variety of applications. The variety was visible in both the locations of the applicants, topics, the career paths of the applications, whether they applied as individuals or as groups. Taking them all together, it shows once more how anthropological methods, skills and theories are applied in diverse environments and for the most diverse goals. The two award types gave us the chance to both acknowledge more general contributions of applied anthropology and to those that specifically work in the field of social activism. We looked specifically for projects that could apply anthropological methods in innovative ways to express their impact. With this in mind, we have selected the winners of the two categories.
Explanation: The first prize goes to ‘Living in Standby: a project of empowerment and recognition for women asylum seekers’, directed by Dr. Federico Varrasso. This collaborative project has been realized at Pierre Bleue refugee center operating in Yvoir (Belgium), a centre that welcomes in particular women who have been victims of gender-based violence. The project combines art therapy, psychosocial and psycho-physical activities together with participatory video methodology. In the project participants learn the basics of video making, such as how to film, how to use the microphone and to edit. The project has multifaceted outcomes. The art therapy activities allow participants to share personal stories of trauma and challenges of their present-day condition. Participatory videos allow spaces for novel articulations of the self and a sense of subjectivity beyond the narrow, predetermined category of ‘asylum seeker’. The project taps into anthropology’s unique nature as probably the most “acting” of the sciences. The outcome is a project that is innovatively planned, well organized, thematically topical and compelling. It has clear applied anthropological dimension by challenging prevailing assumptions of asylum seekers through its layers of collaboration and co-creation, with a persuasive aim of empowerment. Congratulations!
See more:
The Second prize goes to ‘Montagne in Movimento’ by Aspire Lab. Aspire Lab is an Italian informal research group that recognises the capacity to aspire as a fundamental element in nurturing democratic processes. Aspire Lab brings together young scholars and professionals in the fields of anthropology, social research, education, art and design. The ‘Moving mountain’ project highlights how Italian marginalized communities (both among rural and urban populations) often experience an incapacity to assert a positive self-identity as well as to imagine a positive future. If in the Renaissance Italian comuni constituted an important framework for citizen involvement – the project description states – the current polity and institutional structure tends to obliterate direct democracy in the making of everyday policies. The project employs collective ethnography and action-research to engage people in cooperative and reflexive processes. The aim is to collect varied local experiences and engage people in participatory processes and self-perception. Together these stimulate broader citizen involvement and develop a common vision toward a sustainable and just future. The project is exciting in its experimental methodology and inspiring in its determination to introduce change. The project also benefits from an impressive, rapidly profilerating collaborative network across the Northern Italian Mountain region. The project mobilizes anthropological insights on participation, decision-making and a sense of belonging to engage with themes that have global relevance. Congratulations to Aspire Lab – we look forward to following the unfolding of the Montagne in Movimento project!
See more: https://www.facebook.com/MIM-Montagne-in-Movimento-102118241369620/
The third prize goes to Subvertizing. Subvertizing is a not-for-profit collective of artists, activists, designers, educators and citizens dedicated to questioning who has the power and authority to communicate and create meaning in public spaces through acts of creative subversion through art-based activism. It was founded by James Finucane and Espen Monserud in Oslo in December 2018. Subvertizing, a combination of ´subvert´ and ´advertising´, is a form of civil disobedience that replaces advertising with art. The project builds on the belief that stories are the fundamental organising force in society, and the narrative created by outdoor advertisers needs to be challenged, specifically in light of the climate crisis. The project description describes its activities as creating ‘a ‘glitch´ in reality that illustrates an alternative vision for the use of our shared public spaces.’ The project has in its short existence established an impressive range of collaborators and visibility extending on the national scale. It embodies an important message of challenging the often subtle power of commercial interests in our shared social space, simultaneously offering novel spaces for artistic interventions. Subvertizing is an ideologically charged and activist project that challenges the prevailing border of legality and illegality in a potent manner – making it simultaneously a slightly tricky initiative for us to award. Yet we want to do so to highlight how this project embodies much of the rogue spirit that anthropology likes to claim, yet too rarely exhibits. Indeed, challenging prevailing norms and questioning their legitimacy – also via means that test the limit of acceptable conduct – should be stronger integrated within the anthropological toolkit of impact. Subvertizing is a bold initiative to not only talk of these issues but to engage with them via concrete action. Congratulations to Subvertizing – and all the winners.
See more: https://www.subvertisingnorway.org/
This was a very relatable project, demonstrating the usual but effective application of anthropology in a highly contested space of assisted reproduction. It effectively illuminates the way in which anthropological theory, methodological and practice should be intertwined and applied on topics at the intersection of kinship and law. This is a fantastic project! It feels like exactly what this award wants to recognize: experimental, theoretically grounded, strong societal impact.
This is a neat demonstration of where anthropologists and architects can collaborate to shift perceptions, giving voice to people who are often silent on projects in the context of city planning. It is a clever application of anthropology to ‘inclusive design’, focusing on the co-creation of physical maps of the city. The award celebrates the combined application of anthropological theory and method.
This is a very topical project, focusing on the transition of societies across the globe from fossil fuel to renewable energy. It is both academically innovative, bringing economic anthropological perspectives to the understanding of energy exchanges. It is also applied, utilizing material interventions to create a ‘field’ for ethnographic investigation of energy exchange relations.
Currently, textbooks produced in Lithuania actively reproduce Eurocentric discourses and stereotypes. This initiative aims to take a more collaborative, open and democratic approach and tries to shift power dynamics of knowledge making in the education system. We considered this project to be worthy of an honorable mention because it brings to the foreground the role of anthropology in education in Lithuania. It’s a clever adaptation of anthropological theory into practice, attending to the role of anthropology in encouraging more culturally sensitive secondary education teaching materials. Well done!
See more: https://anthropos.lt/index.html
As you know this was our first year to organise the WWNA Apply Awards. Here are some general reflections on this process that may be useful for those who’d like to apply next year!
For upcoming awards, we suggest applicants focus on how their work is: 1. relevant to anthropology, with respect to theory and method; 2. Innovative, with respect to demonstrating how change has happened; and 3. has impact, i.e. policy influence, public engagement, etc.
We have been inspired by your hard work that demonstrates how anthropology can provide a critical edge and approach to addressing real world problems. In addition to showcasing your work (media, social media) and winning an artefact by a multidisciplinary designer, as the pioneering award winner, you will become the founding member of Apply Awards Alumni community. We invite you all to start with us as a founding member of an WWNA Alumni Club where we can brainstorm together what an inspired community of practice can do! Stay tuned for more details! We hope to see you all again next year!
Dr. Ferne Edwards
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, EASA Applied Anthropology Network
With a background in cultural anthropology, Ferne works across design, geography, health and planning to address issues on sustainable cities, food systems and social change. Ferne has conducted research in Australia, Venezuela, Ireland, Spain and Norway to explore diverse urban food practices, including topics of waste, beekeeping and ICT-mediated food sharing. She has applied her research in international collaborative networks and activities, including working with ten municipalities to establish an international edible cities network in the EU H2020 IA project EdiCitNet; and as part of the European Urban Arena network to distill solutions for just and sustainable cities. Ferne has recently co-edited two books: ‘Food for Degrowth: Perspectives and Practices’ with Anitra Nelson (Routledge, December 2020) and ‘Food, Senses and the City’ (Routledge, 2021) with Roos Gerritsen and Grit Wesser. She is currently exploring strategies to (re)engage with nature and to foster sustainable food transitions based at NTNU, Norway.
Dr. Roos Gerritsen
Ueber den Tellerrand & UnFAQ, EASA Applied Anthropology Network
Roos holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and worked at the University of Heidelberg in the fields of media, South Asia & food anthropology before deciding to apply her expertise in other directions. She is the co-founder of UnFAQ, a qualitative research bureau that designs and executes research methods for those who want to understand what really matters to the people they design policies, interventions and products for. Moreover, Roos is community coordinator of Über den Tellerrand Heidelberg, an organization that uses cooking as a method to flatten boundaries and to initiate cultural exchange. She is co-editor of ‘Food, Senses and the City’ (Routledge, 2021) with Ferne Edwards and Grit Wesser and the author of Intimate Visualities and the Politics of Fandom in India.
Dr. Miia Halme-Tuomisaari
Senior Lecturer in Human Rights Studies at Lund University
Miia Halme-Tuomisaari is a legal anthropologist specialised in the analysis of the contemporary human rights phenomenon. Her field sites include the UN Human Rights Committee, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Finland, and a Nordic Network of Human Rights Experts. She has also done archival research on lobbying efforts around the UDHR. Her recent publications include ‘Methodologically Blonde at the UN in a Tactical Quest for Inclusion’ (Social Anthropology 2018) and ‘Revisiting the History of Human Rights (co-ed with Pamela Slotte, Cambridge University Press 2015). She was the Liaisons officer for the EASA Executive Committee for 2018-2020, and she is Senior Lecturer in Human Rights Studies at Lund University.
https://helsinki.academia.edu/MiiaHalmeTuomisaari
https://www.miiahalmetuomisaari.net/me/
Dr. Gemma John
Human City
Gemma John is an Honorary Research Fellow in Social Anthropology at the University College of London, and the Founder of Human City. She works at the intersection between social anthropology, urban governance and design, illuminating the ways in which planners, property developers, architects and other built environment experts negotiate legal and political infrastructures while creating places that deliver value to society and reflect imaginaries of the ‘good life’. Her interest in the politics of value, and the interplay between economy, morality and design, stems from her post-doctoral research on devolved governance in the UK through the Localism Act, and doctoral research on Freedom of Information legislation and transparent citizenships in Scotland. As an academic, she has published on new knowledge practices, government bureaucracy and personhood. She recently co-edited a book ‘Speaking for the Social: A Catalogue of Methods’, with Hannah Knox (Punctum 2022). As a consultant, she uncovers the interplay between technical, material and social factors in urban contexts and enables organizations to design spaces that are socially sustainable.
Contacts for Media:
Ferne Edwards
Roos Gerritsen