Very sorry about cross postings

This is to let you know about a new email discussion list set up by the Participatory Geographies Working Group of the RGS, the catchily titled

PyGyWG.jiscmail.ac.uk

You can subscribe to the discussion list at www.jiscmail.ac.uk, and/or join the group formally through the RGS pages (www.rgs.org).

This is a UK-based group/discussion list which anyone interested in participatory research and development – regardless of country, discipline, academic or non academic status etc – is very welcome to join (please forward this email to anyone you think may be interested).

The aims of PyGyWG are:

1. to increase understanding and the deployment of participatory principles throughout all aspects of higher education academic geography (and its professional institutions);

2. to stimulate and develop critical debate about participatory approaches;

3. to encourage learning and dialogue about participatory geographies amongst geographers in developing and developed world contexts;

4. to encourage the development of collaborative links within and beyond the academy in participatory ways;

5. to widen participation in higher education geography, with a particular focus on strengthening the links to school and college geographies (and geographers);

6. to widen the range of what are considered to be legitimate geographical knowledges;

7. to provide a coherent link both to research groups in other disciplines focusing on participatory geographies and to other RGS-IBG research groups; and

8. to ensure that high quality participatory geographical research is firmly linked to debates around public policy, through both effective dissemination and meaningful collaboration with policy makers, the voluntary sector, activist and interest groups, and other vehicles for social action.

We will use the mailing list to let people know how the group develops, but I hope it will largely be a forum for discussion of the intellectual, practical, political and ethical issues involved in participatory research and development.

best

Rachel

Dr Rachel Pain

Department of Geography

University of Durham

Science Site

Durham DH1 3LE

England

+44 (0)191 3341876

[log in to unmask]

http://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/