Synergies between Social Justice and Climate Resilience
Social and cultural contexts can influence political decisions, as well as individual attitudes and behaviours regarding climate protection and climate adaptation in a region, just as much as legal, political and economic factors. For this reason, we would like to engage in a productive dialogue with residents of the Ahr Valley on the key social challenges that are relevant in the context of the reconstruction process. Building on this, we aim to identify synergies between social justice and climate resilience, and to uncover and resolve any conflicting objectives.
Profile
Academic disciplines
Geography & Sociology
Head of Sub-Project
Prof. Dr. Kathrin Hörschelmann & Susanne Bell
Objective
Support for practical solutions
How can practical solutions to social challenges in the reconstruction process be supported in such a way that all relevant interests are adequately taken into account and effective improvements are achieved?
- Analysing social challenges in the Ahr Valley following the flood disaster
- Promoting constructive dialogue between relevant stakeholder groups in the Ahr Valley
- Jointly developing systemic solutions and putting them into practice
- Participatory workshops with experts from the region
- Qualitative analysis of the findings and feeding the results back into the workshops
- Where appropriate, accompanying quantitative surveys (e.g. the ongoing mapping of meeting places)
Methodology and Data Collection
Specifically, since November 2024 we have been organising regular participatory stakeholder workshops, to which we specifically invite representatives from the social, health and education sectors, civil society, politics and public administration, as well as the social sciences. The specific topics and format of the individual events are not determined in advance, but emerge organically from the process itself, so that we can respond as effectively as possible to the needs of practitioners.
A key aspect of the process is that, within the framework of these workshops, we bring together people from a wide variety of fields to build networks, strengthen trust between institutions and help to initiate courses of action that have been thoroughly considered by all parties. In this way, we not only gain a better systemic understanding of the real-world complexity of our research topics, but also feed back the insights gained on an ongoing basis from all sub-projects promptly to all relevant areas of practice.
This public participation process is accompanied by closed-door framework discussions, in-depth interviews and participation in similar events organised by external bodies, such as the information and discussion sessions run by the Zukunftsregion Ahr e.V. association, or activities marking the anniversary of the flood. In particular, the project coordinator and workshop lead, Susanne Bell, is regularly out and about in the region, ensuring that communication between the SOZIAHR project team and the people of the Ahr Valley flows productively in both directions.
In the first phase of the project (2024–2026), the focus is primarily on exploratory data collection, but will then increasingly shift towards actively shaping regional negotiation processes. From 2027 onwards, Susanne Bell will actively drive forward the transfer of knowledge gained from the workshops, the accompanying discussions and the first round of surveys, and will support the implementation of the solutions developed in the workshops.
Research Objectives
At the same time, the process will also yield fascinating insights into fundamental social science issues and provide a data basis for academic publications. Among other things, the aim is to examine how, within the process described, all relevant interests can be adequately taken into account in order to prevent feelings of exclusion and of being left behind, as well as social division. In the worst-case scenario, the marginalisation of legitimate concerns of disadvantaged groups from public discourse and political objectives could undermine social cohesion and, ultimately, the social foundations of our democracy. In the best-case scenario, the insights gained from the situation in the Ahr Valley could help to make social negotiation processes more inclusive and based on solidarity, both within the affected region and in comparable regions.
Sub-Project Lead
Prof. Dr. Kathrin Hörschelmann
