Navigating Work Opportunities
The course is organized by the Environmental Governance Group at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin from 1 June - 4 June, 2015. Navigating Job Opportunities aims to help fellows identify and take the next steps in their career as political ecologists, after the end of their ENTITLE fellowship.
The course is guided by a professional career coach, who will work with fellows to strengthen their skills for job applications, job interviews and self-presentation in different job sectors; primarily the academic market, in different European and non-European contexts. Through various exercises the fellows can explore different opportunities and requirements for developing future careers in government, the non-profit sector, and the mass media, discussing how to bring to these arenas the insights of political ecology.
The coach will encourage fellows to identify ways of collaborating as a peer group beyond the duration of the fellowship, while also planning their individual careers. This may include the development of concrete project ideas, such as establishing a political ecology research association or working with NGOs, EJOs, media projects and public services.
During the course fellows will also discuss "The Career Guide for Political Ecologists" (attached below). This is a written Q&A exchange between some fellows and mentors from the network, addressing their concerns about precarious job markets and the complex phase nearing the end of their fellowships.
Screening Violent Ecologies, 31st of May
A documentary film evening and discussion on violent ecologies, resistance and struggle in the Niger Oil Delta and Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest is organized for Sunday evening. Starting at 18.30 at Moviemento Kino, (Kottbusser Damm 22, Kreuzberg, Berlin).
This event is co-organized with the NGO AfricAvenir, with the aim to publicly address and discus the silent violence committed against environmental activists who are resisting land grabbing and resource extraction in Africa and Latin America. During the event two documentaries will be projected: Delta Force (Glenn Ellies, 1995) and Killing for Land (Adrian Cowell, 1990); later on a discussion with Edel Moraes (Vice-President, CNS) & Felipe Milanez (Researcher, ENTITLE) will follow.
The public lecture by Prof. Elmar Altvater, 1st of June
The public lecture on 1 June (18:00) by Prof. Elmar Altvater on "Academia, Activism & Alternatives - strategies for politicising ecology in precarious times" addresses the tasks of social science researchers, particularly political ecologists, in the geological epoch of the Anthropocene. The lecture explores the opportunities and challenges for young researchers of creating and maintaining links between professional academic research and political activism.
Roundtable "Beyond Academic-Activism: ways of working on the commons and commoning", 2nd of June
This roundtable aims to give insights into academics or political ecologists working in different sectors outside of academia, primarily in think tanks and professional activist networks, based in Berlin. It should stimulate fellows to consider and explore transdisciplinary academic careers beyond the University.