Speakers from around the globe gathered Friday at the Levis Faculty Center for the Sustainable Methods for Adapting and Adopting Regional Technologies Symposium. Hosted by the University’s European Union Center and the Center for Advanced Study, University faculty, city leaders and professors from European universities discussed future strategies for climate justice.
The European Union Center’s status as a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence funded the 2025 SMAART Symposium. It’s part of a three-year project which is supported under the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission. The Climate Change Research Initiative at the Center for Advanced Study co-sponsored the event.
The event featured a total of five panels and ended early Saturday afternoon. Each consisted of three panelists.
Jessica Greenberg, associate professor in anthropology and acting director of the European Union Center, said the symposium was a way to build on civic participation and policy exchange between the United States and the European Union.
Speaking to the importance of the event, she explained that this initiative specifically targets issues surrounding democracy, structural inequality, youth participation and justice around migration.
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“Already on this campus, students are absolutely leading the way,” Greenberg said.
She expressed hopes of “collaboration and solidarity” that will come as a result of the symposium hosting academic and city leaders, while being open to the public and students.
“What does it mean to imagine and implement climate justice?” was a key question that guided the symposium, as noted in its promotional materials. Speakers from a multitude of disciplines discussed the issue, each bringing their own perspectives on sustainable development, climate policy and green technologies.
Valentina Orioli, associate professor of urban planning at the University of Bologna in Italy, discussed the process of achieving climate neutrality by 2030 as part of the EU’s mission to have “‘100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030.’” Orioli said it was critical for cities to be prepared for the future.
“I want to emphasize the importance of planning,” Orioli said. “If you have plans, you have a vision. I think the most important thing for every city is to find its own way and be ready when the occasion will happen.”
Another panelist, Chloe Ahmann, assistant professor of anthropology at Cornell University, shared her appreciation for the collaborative and multidisciplinary nature of the symposium.
“(The symposium) brought together scholars, designers and practitioners who work in industry and government, all thinking about the idea of environmental futures beyond despair,” Ahmann said.
Ahmann stressed the importance of academics to think “conceptually and historically” about protecting the future of the environment. She emphasized finding real, application-focused solutions to pressing climate concerns.
“(Academics) who are showing us what this looks like in practice and not just in theory,” Ahmann said.
Lauren Becker, another panelist and sustainability coordinator for the city of Carbondale, Illinois, further discussed the impacts of collaboration and solidarity among climate leaders.
“I think that sometimes we risk encouraging more division by focusing on what we don’t have in common,” Becker said. “Who benefits from this divisiveness?”
According to the panelists, anyone interested in materials from the symposium can contact the European Union Center or Center for Advanced Study directly. The full list of attendees and abstracts can be found here.
