Td Summer School 2019

This year we were heading east with the Td Summer School and gathered with people from all over the world in the Caucasian mountains in Georgia. In the shadow of Mt. Kazbeg we were working in Stepansminda – a small town that is rapidly growing due to a run of tourists to the region and facing a series of problems due to dis-balanced and unsustainable development.

The participants of the Td Summer School 2019 came from 18 countries and represented 6 different alphabets which made it a real challenging intercultural endeavor. Jointly we explored the potential of transdisciplinary research in different world regions, and on-site, engaging with politicians, hotel owners, conservationists, teachers, and farmers. These interactions peppered with excitement and added an important dimension of practical experiences to the packed days of introduction to historical, theoretical and methodological aspects of transdisciplinarity. By engaging with the place we were situated in was an important sources of inspiration for the group work during the second half of the Td Summer School 2019. 

The municipality of Stepansminda and the multiple challenges it is currently facing was subject of several case study designs. One group worked on the development of a joint vision for municipal sustainability among actors with very diverging objectives; others focused on tourism development, in particular empowerment of youth via tourism, and a third group tackled the challenge to co-design an inclusive public space in the center of the town which is at the same time main transit route between southern Caucasus, Iran and Turkey and Russia in the north and the main public and touristic zone. A curious – and sometimes frightening mix as we all experienced working just right behind the main intersection of the road. Other groups tackled highly interesting resource related subjects. A colleague from Chechnya served as case experts for a group designing a case study for a transdisciplinary feasibility study on waste management in Grosny and Iranian water resource experts worked together with a Mexican colleague who is advising the city administration of Mexico City in water resource management. 

It was fascinating to see the expertise of the participants – who met for a few days only – merge in the process of case study design. Local authorities who attended the final presentation were impressed by the comprehensive pictures and constructive proposals the groups developed to tackle complex and pressing problem through transdisciplinary research. However, the strong embedding of the Td Summer School 2019 into local realities required time and attention and some participants claimed to not have gained sufficient clarity about the research approach. It is another balancing act, besides trying to create a space for mutual learning and at the same time provide sufficient orientation for all involved.

For more information, see our folder.