Arena
Beginning in 2020, I became the founding editor of Arena Online, a new publication from the radical cooperative Arena, an organisation that has, since 1963, critiqued and challenged the contemporary status quo of techno-capitalism. As the editor of Arena Online, my task is to commission and edit articles, ensuring their quality content and accessible style so as to aid Arena’s efforts to influence public debate.
Circles of Sustainability
Since 2014, I have been a Global Advisor and Principle Researcher on ‘Circles of Sustainability’. This project is funded and lead by the City of Berlin, City of Johannesburg, Metropolis (World Association of Major Metropolises), UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments), and ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability).
In this ongoing work, I have helped to map the histories of struggles for sustainability and to construct multidimensional profiles of cities in order to support cities, communities and organisations to understand and act upon basic issues relevant to sustaining a positive and vibrant social life. For more information, see their website.
Circles of Emotion
From 2015 I have been a Principle Investigator on the Circles of Emotion project that seeks to formulate an approach to understanding human emotions. The project attempts to grapple with the notorious complexity of emotions, with their intimate inter-dependencies on histories, understandings, memories, relationships and ways of life. Indeed, emotions are foundational to the human condition, and they are also intensely social and embodied. The project seeks to understand how emotions are described, analysed and represented, and how this changes according to geography and history.
Over these years, I have researched and written up a lot of material for the project, as well as developing and extending the conceptual frameworks as the project expanded from its initial focuses to attempt to understand emotions as expressed on the human face, and how emotions can be embodied in, or projected onto objects and places.
The project is funded by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotion, Melbourne University, and the Institute of Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. For more, see Circles of Emotion’s website.
No Regrets Charter
Since 2014, I have been a member of the Organisational Group and Global Associate for the No Regrets Charter. During this time, one of my main tasks was to conduct a detailed ideological analysis of global climate change charters, manifestos and declarations, looking at the various emphases, framings, omissions, assumptions and interests that are being served. This research was undertaken in order to better understand the current landscape of climate change adaptation on a city level and to attempt to further the No Regrets Charter’s holistic, precautionary and radical approach.
The Charter itself was formulated through a series of forums in Berlin, Brussels, Hyderabad and Buenos Aires, and has since been adopted by some cities such as Johannesburg, Lyon and São Paulo. The Charter is funded and led by the City of Berlin, City of Johannesburg, Metropolis (World Association of Major Metropolises), UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments), and ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability).
For more, please see its website.
The Real News Network
Back in 2012 and 2013, I produced two pieces of freelance investigative journalist pieces for the Real News Network, an independent news media organisation based in Baltimore, USA, focused on providing high quality and uncompromising journalism. My contributions can be seen below:
“Out of Order” Activists Fight Coke’s Bid to Shut Down Recycle Plan
“Trespassing” on Australian Civil Liberties
The Amazing World of Amazing Nature with Bastian Waters: The Lifecycle of the Shopping Trolley (short film)
Before taking the writer path I wanted to become an independent film-maker and made a number of rudimentary short films as part of my undergraduate degree (until I was alienated by the industrial part of the film industry). The most fun of these dodgy undergrad films was probably The Lifecycle of the Shopping Trolley, a short film shot, edited and scored entirely in one week and with a total $100 budget, snacks included (just to set expectations…). It went on to win the ‘People’s Choice Award’ at the 2008 Short Sharp Film Festival.