IF Mobility Fund Recipients

Congratulations to those who have been awarded Imagining Futures Mobility Funds. Thanks to the IF funding, these researchers will travel internationally, extending their networks and furthering their important and exciting research. Read more about the awardees and their projects below.

IF also awarded an MA Mobility Fund specifically for MA students, which you can read about HERE.

Hao’s funding enabled him to present his completed Imagining Futures project, Archiving COVID-19 Heritage in Ho Chi Minh City, led by Rachel Tough, at the Association of Southeast Asian Studies Annual Conference held at Universitas Indonesia; an important step in Hao’s early career networking. As a result of the trip Hao formed new relationships other researchers who shared similar interests in terms of research topic and methodology, and who were actively conducting their work in the region. Hao broadened his knowledge and networks of research/archival methods as well as other domains of public health and culture in mainland southeast Asia (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar) and more of an understanding of pressing social and political issues in Southeast Asia (i.e changing economic landscapes across SEA countries, emerging forms of election in Philippines and Thailand, and political conflicts in Myanmar). On his return, Hao shared the project and these findings with his social studies peers at Fulbright University, some of whom decided to engage as volunteers in the upcoming phase of the project. 

This funding awarded to Paul Magee, Paul Collis and Jen Crawford will enhance their IF-funded project involving the composition of A Book that Opens. This has involved heading out “on Country” in Outback New South Wales, and using recording and transcription to create a book-based archive of the oral intellectual practices that have been key to the transmission and recreation of Australian Aboriginal culture for millennia.  

The IF Mobility funding will allow three visual artists to accompany the project team on a five-day trip to the project’s fieldwork sites (the towns of Bourke and Brewarrina, Gundabooka National Park—which includes extensive rock art—and Tourale National Park). The purpose of bringing the three visual artists along is to generate illustrations for the book.  

The book requires illustration to improve its readability. Given that the book is fully composed of speech and therefore quite experimental in nature, such visual aids will provide a vital handrail through the text. The reason for including three visual artists rather than just one is their desire to generate the same sort of productive dialogue, on a visual plane, that we have captured on an oral plane in the text.

“Thanks to the support of the IF Mobility Fund, we were able to participate at the green art lab alliance festival  (galaFest) from December 3rd-7th, 202,  in Chile’s Araucania Region. This unique festival gathered artists, activists, researchers, and experts to delve into the intersections of art, culture, science, and environmental sustainability. 

During this inspiring event, we collaborated with Fundación Mar Adentro to deliver a workshop titled “Walk as we Talk… Discovering the Araucarias.”  a sharing session that  involved a walk along the araucaria path, where we explored methods for archiving and sharing biocultural knowledge. 

We were also honored to present our collective’s work and the Biocultural Living Archive project at the Universidad La Frontera (UFRO) public program in Pucón, to a wide audience.  This trip served as a platform to effectively disseminate the IF Biocultural Living Archive project to a wide public audience. This exposure generated significant interest, leading to connections with curators and researchers. With whom we are already planning exciting future joint projects, like a transdisciplinary symposium. We also were interviewed and our project got media coverage. (https://fundacionmaradentro.cl/articulo/cocina-colaboratorio-soberania-en-torno-a-paisajes-alimentarios/ )”

Zuhura’s IF funding will create the opportunity for her to attend and participate in the International Council on Monuments and Sites conference in Sydney, Australia. Zuhura has been invited to moderate two sessions at the conference, offering her unique insights and experiences in connecting with Indigenous voices and heritage. Currently based at Tanzania’s University of Dar es Salaam, Zuhura’s trip to Sydney will enable her to learn more about the functioning and operations of ICOMOS. This knowledge can be brought back to Tanzania and shared with interested stakeholders, motivating them to establish an ICOMOS presence in Tanzania.

The Imagining Futures (IF) Mobility Grant provided a unique opportunity for Timonson, based in Kenya, to visit Botswana. The primary purpose of the trip was to meet with collaborators at DIKAKAPA, a cultural organization in Botswana, and to attend the MARANKANA CARNIVAL. The focus was on benchmarking their methodologies in preserving and commercializing cultural performances, which could enhance our ongoing IF project, “Archiving Performances, Dance, and Oral Traditions of Luo Community.” 

The IF Mobility Fund supported Nelida to establish meaningful connections with Geoscientists in other countries to develop projects related to geological heritage and disaster risk management, as well as develop new leadership skills to work with communities living in the vicinity of study areas and acquire new knowledge in the field of geological heritage in volcanic zones. 

As part of Nelida’s project she presented two posters (one about the latest eruption of Ubinas and the other about the Añashuayco geosite in Arequipa); conducted two oral presentations on the participation of young Latin American volcanologists and the presentation of the video “Nina y el Origen del Sillar.”; participated in the organization of the workshop “IV Encuentro de Jóvenes Volcanólogos Latinoamericanos (JVLA)” and the session “Fair science, equitable and inclusive communities: commemorative session to Martha Navarro Collado.”; participated in the workshops “Sharing lessons from working alongside communities at risk from volcanic eruptions: where are we now and how can we improve” and “Experiences in preparing for and responding to the health impacts of volcanic eruptions in Latin America: Story sharing and information exchange”; and supported in the presentation. “Bringing Volcanoes to the Museum: Archiving Volcanic Deposits with Epoxy Resin. An Example in Arequipa, Peru.”

This Mobility Fund enabled a collaborative partnership between Hanna’s Syrbanism project and the American University of Beirut (AUB), fostering cooperation and obtaining valuable feedback on the publication “Seeing Berlin Anew”, facilitating a face-to-face meeting with Howayda Al Harithy and her team. It also provided a platform to obtain valuable feedback on the publication “Seeing Berlin Anew,” ultimately paving the way for a fruitful partnership and meaningful future engagements.

Saili Datar and Neha Rane were able to travel from India to visit the Natural History Museum in London to further develop their project Creative Archiving of Socio-ecological and Socio-cultural knowledge & practices of Lateritic Landscapes of Central Konkan (Bio-cultural documentation of Konkan Sadas).