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News in brief
R ecent projects by the IIASA Science and Art
Project tackled two urgent issues â migration
and resource depletion â under the guiding
premise that to reach people, science needs a
new language.
Project leader, Gloria Benedikt explains: âTechnically
we can advise people on how to solve climate change,
but we will only create a cultural shift by internalizing
sustainable thinking.â
Dancing with the Future, performed in New York
during the UN General Assembly week, focused on
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by
asking how we should cooperate with the future.
Benedikt worked with Martin Nowak, director of the
Harvard Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, to create
a multi-layered interactive performance combining
text, dance, music, visuals, and interactivity, into an
experience that is very different from listening to a
lecture or reading an article.
âHumans are not psychologically wired to care about
future generations,â says Benedikt. âTo overcome this,
action was provoked by an interactive game designed
by IIASA researcher Piotr Magnuszewski. During the
performance, the audience became active participants,
answering questions on how many resources we
should use, versus leaving them behind for future
generations. The performance was influenced by the
audienceâs choices, so they could see, through the
dancers representing future generations, how their
decisions would impact real people.â
According to Benedikt, using many levels of
communication engages more parts of the brain, and
gives a deeper and longer lasting learning experience.
The interactive method leads people to derive meaning for themselves. They are left asking, âwhat
can I do about this in the real world?â
Another performance, Migraspectives, addressed
the migrant crisis, and aimed to help participants
solve problems by exposing them to opposing
world views.
Developed in collaboration with the IIASA Risk and
Resilience Program, Migraspectives was performed at
the IIASA-JRC Summer School on Evidence for Policy in
September 2018. Over 75 researchers and policymakers
from 40 countries came together as part of an open-air
interactive performance.
Policymakers were brought face to face with a crisis
â deciding how to deal with a boat full of refugees
(enacted by IIASA scientists) calling for immediate
attention. Artists presented different worldviews,
before the audience was asked to pick the one
they associated with most.
It was obvious that there was no
solution everyone would be entirely
happy with. However, by negotiating
according to a viewpoint potentially
opposed to their own, participants
reached a sustainable solution
within 45 minutes. âThere are no
perfect solutions but what we must
strive for is one everyone can live with,â
says Benedikt.
In addressing some of the worldâs most
complex and pressing issues, there is often a gap
between understanding and action, cooperation and
compromise. Filling this gap requires speaking a new
language. âThis innovative method of engagement
works. Now we need more of it,â concludes Benedikt.
Further info: www.iiasa.ac.at/arts
Gloria Benedikt: benedikt@iiasa.ac.at
Written by: Natasha Little
R E A C T I O N A N D A C T I O N
How science and art can inspire
behavior change
How can we translate knowledge into action?
The IIASA Science and Art Project uses
immersive performances to inspire action among
policymakers and the wider public
www.iiasa.ac.at 7OptionsSummer
2019
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Buch options, Band summer 2019"