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ABSTRACT
This article outlines a research and action project for advancing an ontological design approach to the pluriverse -or 'a world where many worlds fit.' It reviews recent trends in ontological design and pluriversal and transition studies. Finally, it considers two empirical applications for the creation of transition design imaginaries for two regions in Colombia devastated by decades of 'development.'
Introduction and goal of the project
The goal of this project is the creation of a space for collective thinking and debate about narratives and strategies of transition toward less destructive models of socio-natural life than those predominant at present. While this initial proposal is based on the actual creation of a research and design space in Cali, Colombia, the space might eventually become a transnational decentered network of initiatives. We call this space Transiciones. This proposal is intended to elicit expressions of interest on the part of individuals, research centers, activist organizations, and funding agencies on this preliminary idea. Two regional studies in Colombia are proposed as the initial activity to explore the transition and design hypotheses proposed.
The project stems from the belief that the forceful emergence of transition discourses and proposals in multiple sites of academic and activist life over the past decade is one of the most revealing and anticipatory signs of our times. This emergence is a reflection of both the steady worsening of planetary ecological and social life conditions and of the inability of established policy and knowledge institutions to imagine ways out of such crisis conditions. Shared by most transition discourses is the contention that we need to step out of existing institutional and epistemic boundaries if we truly want to envision the worlds and practices capable of bringing about the significant transformations seen as needed. The project seeks to develop a particular approach to such a contention, based on a set of concepts derived from both trends in the academy and in social-political life.
Brief description of the project
Transiciones is intended as a space for the study and advancement of transitions toward a world in which many worlds fit - a pluriverse. It takes as its point of departure the notion that the contemporary ecological and social crises are inseparable from the model of social...