Nov 28, 2024: Presentation by Ria-Maria Adams at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

The conference Zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement & Stadterneuerung will take place at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in Germany, on November 28 – 29, 2024.

Katrin Großmann (Forschungskollektiv Peripherie und Zentrum, FH Erfurt) and InfraNorth researcher Ria-Maria Adams will be presenting at the conference Zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement & Stadterneuerung (in English: Civic Engagement & Urban Regeneration) organized by the Institute for European Urban Studies (IfEU) at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in Germany (November 28 – 29, 2024).

On Thursday, November 28, at 11:00 CET, they will be part of a panel providing a theoretical overview. Their presentation, titled Peripherisierung und Zivilgesellschaft: zwischen Selbstresponsibilisierung, Austerität und Ermächtigung (in English: “Peripheralisation and civil society: between self-responsibilization, austerity, and empowerment”) is related to a joint chapter they are working on for the book series Jahrbuch Stadterneuerung. Also on this topic, they have previously published together with others in journals such as the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and Cities.

Civil society actors in peripheralized regions face a complex dilemma: while voluntary work is often seen as a key strength and a resource for development, these actors operate under challenging conditions shaped by socio-spatial inequalities, such as emigration, aging populations, and dependence on external funding. In this conference, Großmann and Adams will present the results of their joint research on peripheral(-ized) communities in Germany, Finland, and Norway, which revealed that civil society initiatives and their actors defy stereotypes, balancing empowerment and autonomy with constraints like (self-)responsibilization and scarce resources. Their German-Finnish comparison emphasizes the decisive role of state support: austerity is not a normal and inevitable fate of peripheral places, because with the appropriate political will the state can redistribute resources from the center to the periphery.

The full conference program is available via this link (only in German).

Oct 1, 2025: InfraNorth Presentations at the 2025 GASCA Conference “Un/Commoning Anthropology”

On October 1, 2025, InfraNorth researchers Philipp Budka, Elena Davydova, Katrin Schmid and Susanna Gartler will present at the 2025 conference of the German Association for Social and Cultural Anthropology (GASCA/DGKSA). This year’s edition will be held from September 29 to October 2, 2025, at the University of Köln, under the theme “Un/Commoning Anthropology.” Temporalities […]

Jul 2025: Presentation by Philipp Budka at EASA Workshop “Past Tense, Future Imperfect”

InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka presented the paper “Navigating Temporalities, Infrastructure, and Uncertain Futures: Scenario Workshops in Churchill, Canada” at the workshop “Past Tense, Future Imperfect: Temporalities as Mobilising Force.” The two-day event, held in hybrid format from July 23 to 24, 2025, was organized by the EASA networks NAoHH (Anthropology of History and Heritage) and […]

Jun 2025: Article by Jolynna Sinanan, Ria-Maria Adams & Philipp Budka in “Visual Anthropology”

The peer-reviewed academic journal Visual Anthropology has just published the article “Framing Multipolar Tourism: Imaginaries, Visualities and Futures,” written jointly by Jolynna Sinanan (University of Manchester) and InfraNorth researchers Ria-Maria Adams and Philipp Budka.   The article examines multipolar iconography and how imaginaries of remote, climate-vulnerable places have materialized through improved transport, enhanced accommodation facilities, […]

Jun 17, 2025: Panel and Presentation by Ria-Maria Adams at the Finnish Anthropological Society Conference 2025

InfraNorth researcher Ria-Maria Adams will be convening a panel and presenting a paper at the 2025 Biennial Conference of the Finnish Anthropological Society in Helsinki. This year’s conference, which marks the Society’s 50th anniversary, will be held under the theme Comparisons in Helsinki from June 16 to 18, 2025. The panel session “Rethinking Infrastructure through […]

Jun 5, 2025: Keynote Speech by Philipp Budka at the IDSF 2025 Social-Science Track

InfraNorth researcher Philipp Budka was the keynote speaker for the Social Science Track at the International Digital Security Forum (IDSF) 2025, held under the theme “Sovereignty and Solidarity in the Digital Age – a critical view.” The forum, hosted by the Vienna Centre for Societal Security (VICESSE) and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, convened […]

May 28, 2025: Le Nunavoix Features Research by Katrin Schmid

A recent article written by journalist Karine Lavoie for Le Nunavoix, a French-language community newspaper published in Nunavut, reports on the recent visit of InfraNorth researcher Katrin Schmid to Nunavut, where she presented the findings of her research on transportation infrastructure and food sovereignty in Nunavut. Schmid’s report “Country Food Cargo: Transport Infrastructure and Food […]