Arturo Escobar - Why are communities key to transforming the world?

Arturo Escobar is a Professor emeritus of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He also works in Colombia as a Research Associate with the Culture, Memory, and Nation group at Universidad del Valle in Cali and the Cultural Studies groups at Universidad Javeriana in Bogota. He has published widely on political ecology, ontological design, and the anthropology of development, social movements, and technoscience. This exciting conversion ranged extensively over so many rich topics. We started the discussion with who are you and got some reflection and insight into how Arturo sees himself in world and the journey he has taken to get to his current academic work as an intellectual activist. We also discussed the role of academic knowledge and activist knowledge in addressing the pressing concerns of our times. In particular we explored the interconnectedness of all beings in the world and the idea of radical interdependence. He highlights 6 axes or strategies for enacting transformative alternatives, with a highlight on the role of communities in transformation and learning how to stop outsourcing the making of life. Links: The Global Tapestry of Alternatives seeks to build bridges between networks of Alternatives around the globe and promote the creation of new processes of confluence. https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/