EXPLORING BIOREGIONING: Design for Bioregions

Event description

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregioning" webinar series! In our August webinar, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Michelle Maloney, will be joined by John Thackera and James Oliver, to discuss the role of social and ecological design, in bioregioning and place-based initiatives.

Bioregioning is a Western term that sees human societies and culture as part of nature, and proposes that modern human societies can be more sustainable, successful and meaningful, if our political, cultural and economic systems are organised within natural boundaries such as bioregions and catchments (watersheds). Some have referred to bioregional governance as 'localisation within the foundations of nature'.

'Exploring Bioregioning' is part of AELA's Greenprints program, and features guest speakers from diverse backgrounds, disciplines and bioregions, sharing research, insights and stories from around Australia and around the world. Our goal is to show how bioregioning offers important pathways to create Earth-centred systems change. 

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

JOHN THACKERA

In festivals, books, and his blog, John Thackara - an author, convenor, and educator - explores the agenda of designing for life and caring for place. He was appointed the first director of the Netherlands Design Institute in 1993, and since that time has curated social and ecological design events and projects around the world, as well as place-based professional workshops. He was commissioner of the UK social innovation biennial Dott 07, and the French design biennial City Eco Lab, and in 2019, he curated the Urban-Rural expo in Shanghai. In 2024 (and again in 2025) he co-convened Care, Value, Place,  a conference in Mumbai, and Urban Ecologies, a conference at Tongji University in Shanghai were he is Visiting Professor. His 12 books have been published in 14 languages, including his last two in Chinese.  https://thackara.com/

JAMES OLIVER

James is an Associate Professor with the School of Design at RMIT University (Melbourne, AU) and an Adjunct Associate Professor with Wominjeka Djeembana Indigenous research lab at Monash University (Melbourne, AU). He has more than 20 years of professional experience across a range of disciplines and sectors (through creative arts, design, social sciences, arts development, community and place-based practices). This has nurtured a collaborative ‘practice-research’ career beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, particularly at the intersections of cultural relations, creative practice research, and Indigenous Practice Research. A reflection of this diverse range of collaboration is published in the book, ‘Associations: creative practice and research,’ (MUP 2018). James has previously held academic appointments at The University of Glasgow, The University of Edinburgh, The University of Melbourne. He has also worked as an arts development officer at the former Scottish Arts Council, and as a researcher, speechwriter, and press officer at the Scottish Parliament.

WEBINAR HOST - MICHELLE MALONEY 

Michelle Maloney (PhD) is an Earth lawyer and advocate for ecocentric and bioregional governance. She is recognised internationally and in Australia for her work advocating for Earth centred law and governance, including First Laws and the Rights of Nature. Michelle is Co-Founder and Director of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA), and Co-Founder and Director of Future Dreaming, an Indigenous led organisation that works to share Indigenous ecological and governance knowledge with non-Indigenous people and organisations in Australia. Michelle lives in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. For more information about Michelle's work, publications and affiliations, please visit: www.michellemaloney.au 

ABOUT GREENPRINTS

Greenprints is a framework for building the foundations of bioregional governance. It has been designed to make it easier for people - especially people living in industrialised and Western societies – to understand how to build sustainable/regenerative futures, by first understanding local ecological systems and using those systems to guide human societies and economies. Greenprints draws on bioregionalism and 'bioregioning' as key concepts for rethinking our personal, organisational and community wide governance systems.

ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN EARTH LAWS ALLIANCE (AELA)

AELA is a not-for-profit organisation working to increase the understanding and practical implementation of Earth-centred (ecocentric) governance, with a focus on systems change across law, economics, education, ethics and community participation in Australia. AELA's vision is an Australian society that embraces an ecocentric or ‘life-centred’ culture, with governance systems that enable human communities to thrive within ecological boundaries, while nurturing biodiversity and ecosystem health. AELA's work includes education programs and project support for people, communities and organisations working to create ecocentric systems change.

For more information, visit our website: www.earthlaws.org.au
or email us anytime: aela@earthlaws.org.au