Reflections from the first meeting

Prof. Tran Duc Tuan -The meeting has been organised very well. I am very pleased to attend the meeting. The discussion during the meeting was useful and valuable for me and all of participant. 

I highly appreciate significant result that the meeting has achieved after 3 intensive days. Thank Prof. Heila and her team very much. I have good days during my stays in Grahamstown.
Anonymous - "Navigating the intermeshed contours of change practice engaged research was usefully opened up for me through the T4 learning work that we deliberated together this week. It was quite a challenge to stay with the diverging and integrating swings by trying to situate perspectives and lift out integrating commonalities. 

The challenge that I will now face is to deploy some of the framings and perspectives for and into the proposal and expanding change- project co-mediated process that I have mapped out and refined this week". 
Anonymous - The meeting was a truly collaborative exercise across various organisation from 3 different continents, and from diverse perspectives of discipline, theory, methodology and practice.
What this managed to do for the task at hand was to provide a rich collection of actionable ideas which have partly been crystallised into useful criteria and guidelines for the case studies. 

The way forward is clear, although we still need to clarify meanings and possibilities for transgressive learning. Thanks to the organisers and facilitators. I managed to make some new connections and strengthen existing ones which will strengthen the collaboration which I see as important in this work.

What stood out for me: Different conceptions of nexus, potential for cross-boundary work, possibly for structural change, rich expertise base available, reflexive alignment with criteria for all.
Anonymous - The three day workshop greatly enhanced my appreciation that there is no limit to knowledge production, that there can never be a finality to a research problem. The sky therefore cannot be the limit for there are footprints on the moon.

The concept of transgressive learning made me reflect on my own case study and reflect on the wicked problems that afflict society today. I also appreciated the way the three concepts: hotspots blindspots and baldspots and how they play out in our bid to come out with solutions that help humanity in the era of the Anthropocene

Of significance the workshop came up with a major resolution that structural transformation is vital to enable us to adapt to climate.
Kim - Transgressive and transformative learning are important concepts when people get together to work in a network towards learning together. Sharing cases and experiences as we have done so over the last three days shows how TKN’s can really accelerate learning, someone called this inter-case engagement.

Risk is another important concept that showed itself over the workshop as something that can bring about change and help social groups to take action. I was reminded that matters of concern are important to consider when engaging with people about certain issues or concerns in a research programme.
Anonymous - Great meeting, learnt a great deal about learning- learning processes.

Particularly thinking about:
1) climate change in its wider implications
2) nexus broadening very valuable
3) nexus getting to the personal and really transformative.
4) Putting flesh onto often ‘fuzzy’ theory.

Thanks for allowing me to participate.
Dylan - I have found that in these three days my understanding of how to situate social learning within a transgressive context. The idea of transgressive here, has been tremendously helpful as its offered new insights into how I methodologically think about the learning potential in the gap between deep ecological phenomenology and its merits, with the socio-political value of environmental justice. Further exploring the concept of ecological justice in this way has given me a new framing of what I am wanting to achieve in my work in Social Learning. 

For example in conversations with Million, I was able to look back at my involvement with the Mupo Foundation in Venda and home two separate social learning (or what we now see as T4 learning) had offered substantial agency shifts in the life of Mpatheleni at Mupo. Viewing her engagement with the Climate train armed with their ecological calendar (developed in an indigenous knowledge process led by Million) created a language and personally valid context for the community to engage and add/edit the African Charter for the rights of Mother Earth. 

The questions posed in these three days around how transformation/transgression can occur at multiple stakeholders, could be seen and understood in our reflexive examination of the Mupo foundation case.
Priya - interrogating concepts and normalised terms - being amongst such a well-experienced group of researchers afforded me the opportunity to revisit and consider a number of concepts that could be used in normalised ways (e.g. sustainable, climate change, co-engaged, etc.). Our multiple  understandings and contextual interpretations of these terms brought together into a discussion on transgressive learning allowed me to really consider what I mean and think when I use the terms, and how my own normalisation of these ideas could be transgressed to make their use more transgressive and transformative. 

The second area I felt that I benefited from during the discussions was through the ongoing development of a more relational understanding between different practices, theories and contexts. 

For example, listening to Dylan speak about empathy, trust and communities telling their stories in various forms helped me, for the first time, to consider the relationship between citizen science and citizen journalism. Where citizen science provides opportunities for people to engage in scientific endeavours, citizen journalism provides spaces for making meaning from the science within the context of their lives.

Citizen science can, but need not, be a formalised process led by scientists - instead it could be driven by citizens (some of whom happen to be scientists ... or not) who work together to investigate a matter of concern using a combination of scientific and social enquiry tools. These citizens could then share their findings through a number of art and communications forms, thereby mobilising  the science within their social contexts. 
Mutizwa - my key learnings were:

1 - there are several types of nexus, which can also serve as the sites of contradiction / pulse for developing learning and agency in the study sites.

2 - Re-positioning of climate change / climate in relation to matters of concern is using it as a catalyst and not as one of the issues

3 - The potential viability of working with the capabilities approach, which enables a more contextualised and even historical approach to working with competencies, skills & knowledge. 

4 - A better grasp of transgressive learning

5 - The development of an interest to learn more about (sensory?) embodied learning, which may be linked to mediation (outside of / beyond) tool mediation.
Anonymous 
1 - The workshop has cleared some clouds I had in terms of classifying the goal, objectives, appropriate theories to use and the methodology.

2 - Criteria development for case studies are fantastic and all inclusive.

3 - I now have more insight into the case studies from various countries in terms of the preliminary concerns, the implementation arrangement and the learning processes being used.

4. The concept though modified to some extent, still tackles / includes climate change adaptation issues.

5. There were several theories and overlapping in most cases. The workshop has caused them to be more focussed.

6. Facilitation / interactions / discussions were quite good.
Anonymous - The most important thing that i have learnt is the systemic thinking using the notion of "nexus". This is important because it will help me look at the problem I am trying to address in different perspectives and hence it will help me find better methods of dealing with the problems - the other phase that helps me focus my work and reflect deeply on what I ma trying to do in my project is " what needs warming up?".

Certainly with multiple stressors and risk societies we are living in, a number of issues require "warming up" - but this phrase has helped me to refocus and reflect on what exactly is the problem I am dealing with and how exactly can it be solved. the issues of transgressive learning therefore are important in dealing with or in answering "what needs warming up?"

Also the fact that we are working on the ground has been important to me because there is already important activities that we are working to solve the "matters of concern" of different sites or societies - but strengthening these is more fundamental than establishing completely new ones. 
Eva - The meeting has first of all been very well planned and held. I appreciate the open discussions, semi-structured and creative. Thanks for that, from my heart.

The change of directions on the Swedish case is on my mind right now - ideas on what to focus on, how to grant it and how to organise it so it fits with the overall project, and adds that extra, or other dimension of global North high carbon footprint, over-consumotions, large impact on climate, narrative of progress, etc. I wonder if a case of youth "working against the system" - we have many of those that we are connected to - will do it.

Or should we make a brand new case with youth identifying with the consumption culture? But then, what would the learning process be? And, can that be co-creative?

Organisation of case: 
1 case people (youth) - which perspective?
2 David - SWEDESD
3 Eva (to some extent) - SWEDESD
Alexander - SWEDESD
Masters students internships + thesis (new SWEDESD "program" for masters)