The next IGU Thematic conference on “The Ocean and Seas in Geographical Thought” will be held at the University of Milano-Bicocca, 6-7 June 2023.
We will be happy to receive your abstracts for our session titled “Territorialising the High Sea” (https://igu-chg-2023.unimib.it/session-list/20-territorialising-the-high-sea/#). Together with participants’ contributes the session will host a kick-off tale of the territorialization process of the High Sea video documented by the sailor and independent video-maker Federico Fornaro, Managing Director of the international news agency Raw-News.
The deadline for abstracts submission is the 9th of January and you can do it via the online platform (https://igu-chg-2023.unimib.it/call-for-abstract/) and sending us an email (chiara.certoma@unito.it; lgalgani@geomar.de ). Creative, multi-disciplinary and innovative presentations are welcome!
Find below the call for our session and do not hesitate to get in contact in case you are interested!
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Territorialising the High Sea
Chairs: Chiara Certomà (University of Turin, Italy), Luisa Galgani (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany)
Type: hybrid
As a sign of the pressing troubles, generated by anthropic activities we need to cope with in the Chthulucene, the irreversible consequences of marine environment degradation are already affecting the global life-supporting system. Contrasting initiatives mainly consist of monitoring and awareness-raising campaigns to prevent or reduce damaging, predatory and polluting activities. Most of them frame within a utilitarian conception of the economic and political importance of seas and oceans, including resource extraction, logistic and leisure activities performance. Nevertheless, marine degradation problem requires a paradigm shift to fill the knowledge gap and promote emotional attachment between humans and the ocean, especially with the High Sea. A large part of geographical literature referred to the territorialization of the High Sea as in terms of geopolitical control. Teritorialisation, however, can happen via a different approach by increasing ocean literacy and sea education to stimulate sustainable behaviours, a sense of belongingness and care. Stirred by the ocean social sciences perspective, such a socio-cultural territorialization of the sea and the High Sea can increase and improve the quality of the relationships between humans, non-humans and the ocean. Our session wishes to host multiform contributions reporting on (not exclusively):
• Critical analyses of marine science toward feeding the marine (or ocean) social science debate.
• Marine social mapping, citizen science, participatory governance and planning processes for improving human and the oceans relationships.
• Experiences of grassroot or informal political engagement toward ocean sustainability.
• Initiatives fostering the emotional attachment for public awareness, engagement, literacy and education (including imaginaries, narratives, blueprints and visions of the seas and oceans).
The session is kicked off by the tale of the territorialization process of the High Sea video documented by the independent video-maker Federico Fornaro, Managing Director of the international news agency Raw-News, who in 2013 crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a 6.50-meter boat during the Mini Transact regatta.
Keywords: marine territorialisation, socio-cultural mapping, participatory science and governance, High Sea
Submission information at https://igu-chg-2023.unimib.it/
Chiara Certomà 