[Applications for the summer school are due 31 May 2020. See the call for applications page on OSAE here.]
The Observatory of Food Sovereignty and the Environment (OSAE) is organizing its second summer school from 31 August to 06 September 2020, in Jerba on the theme : “Climate Change and Food Dependence: Processes and Risks.”
Faced with the foreseeable and dramatic consequences of climate change which are starting to hit the countries of the south, including Tunisia, and faced with the worsening of food dependence on the majority of the countries of the South, it is necessary to explore the question of the complex mechanisms which hide behind the links between climate change, poverty, peasant marginalization, and food dependence. Who benefits from climate change and who are the primary victims?
It is now demonstrable that industrial and extractivist agriculture contributes massively to fuel the mechanisms of climate change. Doubtless, not all agricultural processes participate in the same way and at the same level, but the production of carbon dioxide which is at the origin of climate change is proportionally linked to the intensification of production: the more agriculture is that intensive and mechanized, the higher its carbon contribution. The more intensive agriculture is, the greater the link to the world market and therefore to food and / or agricultural dependence of the largest portion of the world’s population. Through the energy used for production and transport, by its relations with the world financial markets and by the very nature of its products, capitalist agriculture is, in a way, directly responsible for the current climatic upheavals and disasters that they induce. Among many other agricultural activities, intensive livestock farming which is developing all over the world, including in arid regions such as southern Tunisia, is directly responsible for around 20% of world production of carbon dioxide and therefore of climate deregulation.
Climate change is induced by capitalist economic models based on the extractivist exploitation of natural resources and the intensive use of hydrocarbons. Thus, while intensive and industrial agriculture is one of the most carbon-emitting areas, peasant and extensive agriculture is the most exposed and vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. Hence the need to reflect on the link between agricultural models, peasant poverty and climate vulnerability.
It is, therefore, more than necessary to develop rigorous lines of academic research on these issues and to enrich the debates with continuous production of knowledge which aims, among other things, to understand the various mechanisms and processes in progress and to establish the mechanisms of responsibility. It is for these reasons that OSAE decided to organize the next summer university on the issue of “Climate change and Food Dependence: Processes and Risks”.
The week-long summer school will take place mainly in the form of workshops and presentations and discussions of the participants’ research projects, in the presence of four or five supervisors (senior researchers). Participants/Supervisors will also make oral presentations during dedicated thematic sessions. Three days will be reserved for field visits.
Language of the summer university: The common language of the meeting will be French. The use of spoken English is still possible, but there will be no simultaneous translation.
Conditions of participation:
- Being a master or doctorate student or being a committed activist on issues related to the theme of the summer school.
- The number of participants being limited to 15 people, we will take into account the simple principle of “first come, first served”.
Participation fees and grants:
- The participation costs, excluding transport costs, are 200 € (around 600 Tunisian dinars)
- Tunisian participants based in Tunisia will be fully supported.
- We have a limited number of grants attributable to social and economic criteria (but without taking nationality into account) to partially or totally cover the costs of participation. Applicants concerned must return the “request for funding” form.
A full application will include :
- A cover letter
- A detailed CV
- A summary of the research or action project bearing the precise title and name of the establishment or the affiliation body. The abstract must be written in French or in English and be between 1000 words minimum and 1500 words maximum.
- A written recommendation provided by a recognized personality (academic fields or civil society)
- The complete file (if applicable, with the funding request form) must be sent by email to the following addresses: osae.summer.school@osae-marsad.org
Funding request form:
Due date of application: 31 Mai 2020
For more information and for any questions, please contact Emna Mornagui at :
Phone number (WhatsApp) : +216 21 038 671
Email address: osae.summer.school@osae-marsad.org
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