Our Common Ocean

Our Common Ocean:
Sustainable Relationships with the Ocean in the North Atlantic, Past & Present

Coastal communities and environments of the North Atlantic have become contested spaces politically, socially, and economically. In Britain and beyond, many such areas are classed as ‘left behind’, with traditional industries, such as shipbuilding or fishing, becoming at-risk or already extinct. Even off-shore oil and gas, which gave some communities a new flood of prosperity, are ebbing away as new ‘green’ economies struggle to take their place, for reasons both practical and political. The Las Casas Institute is committed to understanding what a socially just relationship with the ocean might look like in both North Atlantic coastal communities and in British ‘Blue’ economies. We are putting forward a method of addressing these tensions by considering historical relationships with ocean economies alongside current thinking, with the aim to develop core principles that can drive future action.

This discussion-led conference—featuring practitioners, community representatives, and academics—will brainstorm principles of what sustainable relationships with the ocean look like in the past, present, and future.

This half-day conference will take place on Tuesday the 1^st of December from 2pm in the Aula of Blackfriars Hall.

Open to everyone. Registration required and details to be announced.

Two groups of panelists will respond to three main questions. They will speak from their own experience each for 10min, followed by a 30min moderator-led group discussion and Q&A:

• Are current and historic coastal practices and industries sustainable? Or are they only resilient in the short-term?
• What is the greatest challenge that you see in maintaining a sustainable relationship with the ocean today and moving forward?
• What kind of future relationship with the ocean would you like to see personally and as a society?

Panel One, 2pm–3pm

John Angus Macaulay, ‘The Earl-Medieval Sea-Economies of Northern Britain’,

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Moderator: Nidanu O’Shea

Panel Two, 3.30pm–4.30pm

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Moderator: TBA

The moderators will offer some closing remarks at 4.45pm and the conference will close with a wine reception.

Panelists and Moderators

 

Venue: Blackfriars Hall - St Giles Oxford, OX1 3LY United Kingdom

Contact:
Las Casas Institute
lascasas@bfriars.ox.ac.uk