Posted in News on Jul 31, 2024.
The BRIDGES Thematic Hub for Planetary Wellbeing is anchored in two leading research institutions at the University of Cologne (UoC): the research initiative for Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities (MESH) and the Global South Studies Center ( GSSC). It is also supported by the Global Responsibility Unit at UoC and the European University for Wellbeing (EUniWell), which is funded by the European Commission.
‘MESH is a research hub addressing the social, cultural and ethical dimensions of global environmental change, together with its associated ecological, climate and health crises. Bringing the historical, philosophical, literary, linguistic and cultural anthropological expertise of the humanities into conversation with the natural and social sciences, MESH fosters research and knowledge exchange across three main areas of enquiry: decolonial cultural ecologies; multispecies conviviality; and disaster preparedness’
‘The Global South Studies Center (GSSC) coordinates global, interdisciplinary research at the University of Cologne focusing on currently highly relevant topics such as migration, sustainability and infrastructures in Africa, Asia and Latin America. A particular focus lies on human-environment relations. Besides providing the supportive structure for scientific projects, the GSSC also makes research results accessible not only to an academic audience but also to the broader public.’
The Global Responsibility at UoC. ‘UoC sees its research and teaching – embedded within the UN Sustainable Development Goals – in global responsibility for shaping the development of science and education, society, and living conditions. Active participation in European and Global networks strengthens its global impact, contributes to shaping the higher education and living landscapes and provides impulses and global competence also for local activities and initiatives. This brings with it a responsibility to continuously develop one’s own institution, which is promoted through competent participation in all areas addressed.’
European University for Wellbeing (EUniWell) has the mission to ‘help create a world in which individual, societal, and environmental well-being are in synergy, in which we flourish and prosper together.’ ‘Within EUniWell, we are collaborating across campuses and borders to understand, improve, measure, and rebalance well-being.’
Focused on Planetary Wellbeing, the Cologne Hub addresses the interconnections amongst human health and wellbeing, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation and ecological regeneration. As such, this Hub is concerned with enhancing the wellbeing of both humans and nonhumans, recognising that their essential needs interrelate in ways that create both synergies and conflicts. Bringing the insights and understandings of the humanities to the One Health concept, the Hub approaches wellbeing from a perspective that prioritises multispecies conviviality and flourishing in a shared Planet Earth for present and future generations. We understand this planet not only as a physical reality and a limited resource, but also as a moral horizon with opportunities and obligations. These include ways of maintaining and re-inventing forms of living well together in a world that is becoming increasingly less habitable for many inhabitants.
Learn more about Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities (MESH): Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities (uni-koeln.de)
Learn more about the University of Cologne: UoC Home (uni-koeln.de)
Learn more about Global South Studies Center ( GSSC): GSSC (uni-koeln.de)
Learn more about Global Responsibility at UoC: Global Responsibility (uni-koeln.de)
Learn more about the European University for Wellbeing (EUniWell): Home (euniwell.eu)
