Islands and Sustainability Lab

Islands are special cases for Sustainable Development. Methodologically and scientifically, islands are ideal ‘laboratories’ for sustainable landscape stewardship. Islands are unique in both attractiveness and climate vulnerability, they are relatively isolated and ‘on their own’ compared to mainland areas, yet they are also more dependent and need to be well connected to other areas more than mainland areas.

The Islands and Sustainability lab aims to contribute to international place-based comparative research on how islands can effectively address socio-economic and environmental challenges and issues relating to insularity (including remoteness, small size and isolation). To that end, there is a need to have a better understanding of relevant scientific theories, concepts and principles of islands as special and privileged places and of the natural and human-induced processes that are essential for understanding their past, present and future. In addition, there is a need for an enhanced understanding of socio-spatial, cultural and economic processes that are specific to islandness. Methodologically there is also great potential for social network analysis and social simulation methods (including spatial microsimulation and agent-based models) to be applied on islands to explore these themes.

An international multi-disciplinary research network

The Islands and Sustainability lab aims to build a multi-disciplinary team of scholars, including colleagues from the new Erasmus Mundus international master programme and network ISLANDS

Contact - Academic Leads

Prof Dimitris Ballas (Faculty of Spatial Sciences)

Telephone: +31 50 36 33897
E-mail: d.ballas rug.nl

Prof Thanasis Kizos

E-mail: akizos aegean.gr

Dr. Loes Bouman

E-mail: l.bouman rug.nl

Further Reading

Read our interview with Prof Godfrey Baldacchino on the importance of Island Studies:

‘Limited resources but infinite possibilities.’ | Interview with prof. Godfrey Baldacchino on the importance of Island Studies | News & Events | Rudolf Agricola School | University of Groningen (rug.nl)

Events

Dear Islands & Sustainability Researchers & Enthusiasts,

We are excited to invite you to a two-day workshop and one-day excursion on the soft-launch of an Interuniversity Research Center for Islands & Sustainability (IRCIS)!

When	January 22-23 (workshops) and 24 (excursion), 2025
Where	22-23 in the city of Groningen (location TBD) & 24 in Schiermonnikoog
Registration Form	Building Island Research Event

Powered by the Islands and Sustainability Lab of the Rudolf Agricola School for Sustainable Development and the international Erasmus Mundus Research Master programme ISLANDS (co-ordinated by the Faculty of Spatial Sciences) the event marks the start of an exciting journey to establish a globally-renowned academic research center addressing sustainability challenges and innovation opportunities on islands. Over three days, we’ll bring together leading island academics, researchers, and island stakeholders to discuss and collaborate on building the research center. The research center aims to join academic forces to develop the knowledge base for transformative solutions towards island sustainability.

The workshop schedule will include short lectures about key issues on Islands and Sustainability by academic researchers and island policy practitioners. Academics include the renowned international islands scholar Godfrey Baldacchino from Malta and researchers from the group of Louis Brigand in Brittany. We will in a hands-on way work on the organisation of the future of the centre and building international transdisciplinary projects together.

Here is an overview of the event schedule:

Day 1: January 22nd (9:30-16:00)

Research and academic session

Lunch break (lunch included)

Hybrid session with partners around the globe (13h-14.30h)

Stakeholder session focused on policy challenges
Day 2: January 23rd (9:30-16:00)

Workshop on IRCIS organization and planning

Lunch break (lunch included)

Workshop on island research themes, proposal development, and long-term research agenda

Hybrid synthesis and debriefing session (15.15-16.00)
Day 3: January 24th (full day)

Excursion to Schiermonnikoog (self-funded)

If you’re interested in attending, please confirm your participation by filling out the Registration Form. More details will be sent to you soon!

The IRCIS is an initiative of the Islands and Sustainability Lab of the Rudolf Agricola School for Sustainable Development, the international Erasmus Mundus Research Masters Programme ISLANDS and the partners and associated partners involved in that program, the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, and the consortium partners of the FREIIA project.

Warm regards,
Dimitris Ballas, Frans Sijtsma, Madi Mucha and Sissal Dahl
on behalf of the IRCIS Team

Last modified:

22 December 2024 5.07 p.m.