My weeknotes are crumbling into a blur, both structure and time wise (I am writing this, in the middle of the following week) and I am thinking that is okay.
As strikes continued in France, solidarities are forming, with young people joining the protest. President Macron, cancelled King Charles III first state visit as Monarch. A friend noticed a new poster for new Uk government alert system, through which people will receive a message to their mobile phone. It will be tested nationwide on the 23rd April. Strikes continued in the UK for the first couple of days.
This week I taught storytelling techniques to environmental scientists, spanning MSc, PhD and post doctoral study, at a science camp in Oxford. The Sciencecamp is run by NGO, EarthWatch, and originally supported as part of a research project, Engaging Environments. There is something tangibly transformative with this generation of early career environmental scientists. Their stories, cross-disciplines and geographic boundaries, and their desire for community building is palpable. last year’s cohort, including one of my PhD students, came back to share their stories and journeys to doing community-engaged research.
I checked in with the new programme lead on the MA in VR and XR, as I am second marker on a module, and its always good to get one’s head around the process, as every institution does things differently, the key is consistency. The week ended with a workshop focused on ‘netzero and values’ on a project scoping how the UK research community can achieve netzero. I like this community, they are working across disciplines, inviting in non-science disciplines, which then, like the science camp, becomes a refreshing collective endeavour.
The week ended exquisitely, seeing composer, vocalist and performer, Holland Andrews open the show for and perform in Christina Vantzou’s ensemble. Their work is enthused with more-than-human themes, building a sonic landscape gradually. My partner booked the tickets. It was my partner’s birthday this week, so I arranged a surprise visit to do ‘axeing’ on the weekend with a group of friends. Bullseye!
everyoneandeverything 