UNESCO has selected the University of Cologne as the location of a research hub in the MOST programme (Management of Social Transformations). The ‘MOST-BRIDGES Thematic Hub for Planetary Wellbeing and Ecological Flourishing’ will be established at two leading research institutions at the University of Cologne: the Hub for Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities (MESH) and the Global South Studies Center (GSSC). It is also supported by the Global Responsibility Unit and the Sustainability Council of the University of Cologne, the European University for Wellbeing (EUniWell) and the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Didactics in the Humanities (IFDG).

The new BRIDGES hub brings together research, outreach and policy expertise to explore the interconnections between human health and well-being, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity conservation and ecological regeneration. The centre incorporates the findings of environmental humanities into the One Health concept. This concept approaches wellbeing from a perspective that takes into account multispecies conviviality and ecological flourishing on a shared planet Earth for present and future generations.

“We are looking forward to working with our Cologne and international partners, especially because the BRIDGES Hub focuses on research as well as transfer and communication. This allows us to bring together the experience and expertise of the various disciplines involved – from environmental ethnology to cultural studies and didactics – in a meaningful way and further develop joint perspectives on ecological well-being, intergenerational equity and diversity,” said Professor Dr Roman Bartosch, co-director of the Cologne BRIDGES Hub.

“The establishment of the UNESCO research hub is a great success for our scholars and scientists. I am delighted that the members of the GSSC and MESH can once again demonstrate how important the research strength of Cologne’s Humanities is for the development of sustainability research that takes all aspects of our planetary responsibility into account,” said Professor Dr Joybrato Mukherjee, Rector of the University of Cologne.

NESCO-MOST BRIDGES is a humanities-driven transdisciplinary sustainability research coalition focused on solutions to social problems highlighted by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It includes the Club of Rome, the Flagship Hub at Arizona State University, the Southern African Hub at the University of Pretoria and hubs at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UK) and City University New York (CUNY) - Princeton (USA). Together they represent a humanities-based approach to sustainability research that integrates previously undervalued knowledge systems into established approaches in order to find innovative solutions to the most pressing social and environmental challenges. The coalition champions a meaningful co-production of expertise that combines the methods of the humanities and the arts with STEM subjects. 
The ‘BRIDGES Hub’ is embedded in an extensive network of international research partners and increases its reach through partners from the Global South who promote cooperation in the Environmental Humanities between the Global North and South as well as among actors within the Global South.
 

Media Contact:
Professor Dr Roman Bartosch
MESH - Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities
+49 221 470 4642
roman.bartosch@uni-koeln.de
 

Press and Communications Team:
Jürgen Rees
+49 221 470 3107
j.rees@verw.uni-koeln.de
 

Further information:
https://bridges-hub.cologne/

https://bridges.earth/news/post/fantastic-start-mesh-symposium-bridges-cologne-hub-launch