Blog post
PhD students connect with practitioners at COP26
Climate talks without jargon
As part of the Incubator Project “Science Talks without Jargon,” PhD candidates from the Wageningen Center for Sustainable Governance (WCSG) participated at the climate change COP26 conference on November 2021. Their activities included hosting a panel on “Non-state actors (NSAs) engagement in climate action: lessons learned from the Netherlands, Mexico, and Indonesia” together with representatives of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and a press conference on Climate Talks Without Jargon together with research assistant from George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication and former employee of the Indonesian office for Climate Change Lia Zakiyyah. The participation of PhD candidates at this conference was a great opportunity for PhDs to have a presence in an important international event that would not have been possible without the support and funds of WCSG
Communication is key
The incubator project “Sustainable Governance Talks Without Jargon”supportsWCSG PhDs to develop skills to communicate beyond academia, connect with practitioners related to their research, and develop non-academic publications to reach a wider audience. So far, it has supported PhD students to communicate their thesis creatively and connect with practitioners in their research areas.
The COP26 conference, organized by the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, UK, from 31st October to 12th November 2021, had more than 40,000 registered participants from over 190 countries. The COP26 brought together actors related to all the dimensions of climate change. This yearly conference offers the best possibility to engage with policymakers and practitioners working in climate governance across the world.
Lessons learned from the Netherlands, Mexico, and Indonesia
As part of the activities realized for the “Science Talks without Jargon” project, the panel “Non-state actors (NSAs) engagement in climate action: lessons learned from the Netherlands, Mexico, and Indonesia” was organized on Thursday 11thNovember2021, at Time:10:30- 12:00. In this panel,
Helena Solman, Robin Smale, and Robert Bergsvik from ENP were joined by Dr. Mark Bynoe speaking onbehalfof the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC). Not surprisingly, both academics and practitioners agreed on the relevance of actors and politics in implementing climate mitigation and adaptation projects.
Transgov Project collaboration
Partnering with the Transgov Project, ENP’s PhD candidates Helena Solman, Robin Smale, Robert Bergsvik, and Max van Deursen were joined by Lia Zakiyyah in a press conference titled “Climate Talks without Jargon.” Lia Zakiyyah is a graduate research assistant at George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication (4C), previously employed by the Indonesian Ministry at the office for Climate Change. Hear about the research and perspectives on COP26 in an accessible manner in the following video.
Enhancing our impact
Overall, participating in COP26 enriched the experience of PhD students through organizing and attending side events, networking with practitioners in their areas, and realizing how climate governance is implemented. This is an effort to enhance the impact of PhD’s research through more connection with practitioners and society in general and create opportunities for further collaboration between scientists and practitioners.
For more details consult the full report here.