SPARC-ing Storbykonferansen 2023
In collaboration with Storbykonferansen 2023, – Urban Research Conference, SPARC organized a pre-conference which was driven by OsloMet’s students, as well as an interactive Keynote, an activity led by SPARC’s student assistants for the researchers.
Pre-conference…
The pre-conference consisted of a collaborative workshop connected to the Urbanity theme, along with a PechaKucha session for idea exchange and the formation of new networks. Participants included researchers from AFI and NIBR, a Scientific Assistant from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Journalism and Media Studies, a Professor from the Masters in Theater and Society program at the Faculty of Technology, Art, and Design, as well as four students majoring in this course.
This event aimed to provide a power-neutral space for new relational dynamics, encouraging researchers, professors and students to collaborate in creative practices that would be integrated into the main conference, thereby connecting students with the conference attendees. This day was designed to extend the Storbykonferansen to the students and explore how students could be integrated into research conferences by participation between multiple stakeholders.
Citizens mapping the city
Heart-Tagging Oslo
During this icebreaker activity, all attendees gathered around a map of Oslo and were invited to Heart-tag and doodle on it in response to three prompts: indicating where they feel anxious, pointing out areas where they feel hopeful, and identifying locations they believe will change. These prompts were proposed in connection with some common feelings likely to be experienced in an “Awkward First Date”, this metaphor provides a communication code that all the attendants regardless of their background, can understand.
This activity immersed attendees in an urban exploration through their personal life perspectives, hence, this easy participation generated a warm atmosphere due to the participant’s experience sharing.
Getting to know each other
PechaKucha
In this session, participants present their research interests, for an exchange of insights into the transdisciplinary connections between various fields and disciplines, and their relation to urban environments. The focus was to introduce and discuss perspectives of educators, researchers and students, regarding the defining elements of their work within the contexts of urbanity and sustainability.
Engagement
Citizens Dating Oslo
When we start dating, desires, questions, and commitments begin to arise. This activity immerses the participants in a narrative where they, as citizens, embark on a journey to date urbanity through love notes. Initially, they wrote some pick-up lines to capture Oslo’s attention, and once the first date started, citizens began to wonder, hope, and commit to building a better relationship with the city.
All this messages were captured in speech bubbles which were placed in the conference rooms aiming to catch attendance attention. The messages were also used at the interactive keynote organized for the closure of the conference and collected in a SPARC booklet.
Building relationships
Visual Manifestations
Engaging co-creation and collaborative discourses, the activity of visual manifestation gave space to the participants to produce creative posters that could inspire future research initiatives. The generate posters visualized participants reflections, questions and responses to future urbanity. This Visual Manifestations, “Cractivism” and “’Innovation yoga’ and other buzzwords scrutinizing the right to the city” were later on displayed on the walls of the conference.
Interactive Keynote…
During the conference’s closing Keynote, connecting the participatory workshop that was hosted at the pre-conference, we asked the academics attending the conference to respond to some of the messages written in “Citizens dating Oslo” by immersing themselves in the role of the city of Oslo. This dialogue, from the pre-conference workshop to the concluding keynote, underscored a comprehensive and collaborative exploration of urbanity, creating an epistle that will be part of our future.
These messages are set within a narrative where citizens encounter Oslo, inviting participants to reflect on the city and citizenship through the lens of love. This analogy prompts contemplation not only in the context of passionate and fiery love but as a journey, wherein wonders, hopes, and commitments manifest as challenging, contradictory, and ever-evolving facets of the urban experience.
