Written by: Tilemachos Kotronis and Dora Psoma

Nichts in der Natur existiert alleine
Nothing in nature exists alone
~ Rachel Carson

At the University of Zurich on 9^th-11^th September 2024, AUTh PhD c. Dora Psoma, ᴇNᴀBʟS project partner and researcher at IDEA, participated in the ILANSCO24 Conference. ILANSCO24, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Landscapes, Language, Society and Cognition, is a conference organised by PostDoc researchers at the University of Zurich (more info on ILANSCO24 and the scientific committee are available here). During this interdisciplinary conference the ᴇNᴀBʟS project was presented.

At ILANSCO24 more than 50 researchers from various fields presented their own research projects while meeting and discussing their ideas for their future steps on the study of Landscapes. These researchers work in the domains of linguistics, cognitive science, sociology, migration studies, political science, communication studies, human geography, GIS, history (of science/ideas), literary studies and cognate fields. Several of the plenaries, keynote and sessions at ILANSCO24 were dedicated to Landscapes Sustainability, Biodiversity and Ecolinguistics, thus providing insightful input on the NBS study at ᴇNᴀBʟS.

In this context, it is important to point out the significance of interdisciplinary research on Landscapes and Sustainability as well as the possible connections with ᴇNᴀBʟS. Some of ILANSCO24 most profound and intersectional plenary talks were delivered by Daniela Francesca Virdis, Associate Professor at the University of Cagliari and Dr. Claudia Keller, UZH. These scholars referred respectively to:

• Ecostylistic Approaches to Landscapes: Between Theory and Practice
• Between Aesthetics and Ecology – Considerations on a New Concept of Landscape in the Biodiversity Crisis

Many other researchers presented their work on Climate Crisis, Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Architecture, Biodiversity Protection, Landscape Structures and Architecture. For more information about the speakers and abstracts, please refer to the ILANSCO24 website here.

At ILANSCO24, Ms. Psoma had the opportunity to speak about ᴇNᴀBʟS and promote this interdisciplinary project; by taking the opportunity to present the project, she delivered a 10-minute pitch, discussing and spreading the project ideas, but also looking for scholars, scientists and researchers interested in the future regional Living Lab activities. Moreover, apart from this presentation, there were many other opportunities for students at the University of Zurich as well as ILANSCO24 participants to be introduced to ᴇNᴀBʟS:

• ᴇNᴀBʟS informative material was available at the secretariat table of ILANSCO24 at University of Zurich, RAA, Rämistrasse 59 
• a presentation of the ᴇNᴀBʟS overview during the closing remarks of the conference
• discussion, brainstorming and distribution of ᴇNᴀBʟS materials in various strategic locations and during networking activities.

This experience at the University of Zurich and ILANSCO24 could not be complete without a tour at the Natural History Museum and the Kunsthaus Zurich. In this tour ILANSCO24 participants had the chance to appreciate the exhibits and especially the ones that reflect and represent the need to a sustainable shift towards the natural environment. This appreciation aligns with the ᴇNᴀBʟS project’s core approach to Natural Based Solutions for creating HE and TVET curricula.

One quote from the Naturhistorisches Museum is what Ms. Psoma brought with her to Greece and she would like to share with all ᴇNᴀBʟS partners:

“Nichts in der Natur existiert alleine
Nothing in nature exists alone”
~ Rachel Carson

You can find the ILANSCO24 Conference Program here and the Book of Abstracts here.

ILANSCO24 official website: https://www.spur.uzh.ch/en/veranstaltungen/workshops/2024/Interdisciplinary-perspectives-on-landscapes-in-language,-society-and-cognition-(ILANSCO-2024).html

Dora Psoma is a Curriculum Design Manager at IDEA training, partner ᴇNᴀBʟS project and she is also a PhD Candidate at the Department of Applied Linguistics at the School of English AUTh.

E-mail: d.psoma@ideatraining.gr, tpsom@enl.auth.gr