Call for Papers: Ontario Climate Symposium 2017
The Ontario Climate Consortium (OCC) and York University are pleased to host the 5th Annual Ontario Climate Symposium on May 11th and 12th 2017. This year’s Symposium theme, Ahead by a Century: Envisioning Just Transformations in a Changing Climate, aims to engage discussions across research disciplines and policy and practice communities about the future of Ontario’s society and economy as we collectively address climate change through mitigation and adaptation strategies.
In climate change policy discussions, the “future” is usually conceptualized in decades – 2030 or 2050 – or at most as “end of the century”. From an indigenous perspective, however, the collective responsibility we bear for ensuring the well-being of the Earth and its communities (both human and non-human) applies to at least seven generations into the future. Inherent to this responsibility is the importance of caring for marginalized and vulnerable communities and sharing fairly the benefits of our transition towards a more sustainable society.
Given that Canada is celebrating the 150th anniversary of confederation in 2017, at this year’s Symposium we are encouraging discussions of what Ontario could be like in the next 150 years, or seven generations, when Canada will celebrate the 300th anniversary of Confederation. We hope to encourage the development of positive narratives and visions of a sustainable and just future, ones that cross boundaries between natural science, social science, law, humanities and the arts. Within the overarching themes described above, we will be organizing the program around a set of sub-themes, including:
- Sustainable EnergyTransitions;
- EcologicalEconomics;
- Eco-health: Connecting Ecology and HumanHealth;
- Regional Land Use Planning and Urban Design;and,
- Changing Culture in a ChangingClimate.
We welcome proposals for individual paper presentations, themed sessions, art and digital media exhibits, posters, and workshops/interactive sessions that express or examine the Symposium theme(s) described above.
General Instructions: Submit your proposal as a Microsoft Word document using 12-point font, single or double space, 1-inch margins. Please submit proposals by November 4, 2017 to schattha@trca.on.ca. All proposals will be peer reviewed by the Symposium organizing committee with decisions made by November 11, 2017.
Papers: For single paper proposals, please submit a maximum 500-word abstract that addresses a) the Purpose of the study being presented; b) the theoretical Context within which the questions or arguments are posed; c) the Method of research and/or analysis d) the Arguments or overall thesis to be presented; and e) the Relevance of the arguments presented to the Symposium themes described above. Papers that address some aspect of the theme will be given priority. Please include a brief Bibliography. Papers that are accepted will be put together in panel sessions that deal with similar questions or topics.
Themed Sessions: Please submit the proposed session title, a brief description of the session, names of all those participating, and titles for each paper. Paper abstracts (of up to 300 words) are strongly encouraged. Participants should be confirmed as willing to attend if the session goes forward.
Art and digital media exhibits: Proposals for presentations of creative work should be no more than 500 words and address 1) the nature (Medium and Form) of the work to be presented; 2) the artist’s Aesthetic Strategies and Methods; and 3) the Relevance of the work as it pertains to the Symposium themes. Please describe any A/V requirements to support the presentation.
Poster Session: The proposal should be no more than 500 words and include a) the Purpose of the study or project being presented; b) the theoretical Context within which the questions or arguments are posed; c) the Method of research and/or analysis d) the Arguments or overall thesis to be presented; and
- e) the Relevance of the arguments presented to the Symposium themes. Please include a brief Bibliography.
Workshops: We will be accepting a limited number of interactive workshops. Workshop proposals should be no more than 500 words and include a) a brief Description of the workshop; b) its Relevance to the overall themes of the Symposium; c) the Learning Objectives for the workshop, and d) a step-by-step Plan.