Funding
The project is financed by a Sapere Aude grant to Mette Fog Olwig of DKK 6.2 million from the Independent Research Fund Denmark.
Research Project Universal Aspirations vs. Geopolitical Divides: Imagining the World as a “Post-Millennial” in the SDG Era
Project Duration: 07/01/2023 - 06/30/2027
Young people from all over the world are today confronted with challenges such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic that cut across national boundaries. These challenges are often referred to as global and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) suggest that they must be solved through global partnerships. In line with this global imaginary, youth across the world have already jointly mobilized to combat climate change and participated in coordinated collective actions, such as school strikes. Yet, contrary to imaginaries of equal global partnerships, these young people face very diverse local life circumstances shaped by social and economic inequalities. This project focuses on young people who are concerned with finding solutions to global challenges but live in disparate parts of the world under very different conditions, specifically in Tanzania and Denmark – two countries that have been in an unequal donor-recipient partnership for almost 60 years. The project will investigate how these young people reconcile the tension between universal aspirations, characterized by global solutions and equal partnerships, and geopolitical divides, comprising hierarchies and unequal power relations.
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Contact
Mette Fog Olwig, project leader, associate professor, mettefo@ruc.dk
Tirza van Bruggen, postdoc, tirzamb@ruc.dk
Conrad John Masabo, postdoc, conradm@ruc.dk
Member of advisory board
Christine Noe (University of Dar es Salaam)
Uma Kothari (University of Manchester)
Bram Büscher (Wageningen University)
Christian Lund (University of Copenhagen)
Publications
What Is a “Development” Research Project? Transforming Ideas of Development through Development Research
Olwig, M. F., Rasmussen, J., Riisgaard, L., Noe, C., Khanduja, G., Taylor, P., Hambati, H., Richey, L. A., Büscher, C. & Minoia, P., 13 Sept 2023, Bonn : The EADI Blog.Research output: Other contribution › Net publication - Internet publication › Communication
Activities
EADI (European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes) CEsA General Conference 2023
Olwig, M. F. (Organizer) & Rasmussen, J. (Organizer)
10 Jul 2023 → 13 Jul 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organisation and participation in conference
Press-media
Bliver unge med ulige vilkår forenet i kampen om bæredygtig udvikling?
01/12/2021
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
Can the world’s youth unite across geopolitical divides to address the Sustainable Development Goals?
01/12/2021
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
Insights
Project Kickoff & Welcome to Postdocs Tirza van Bruggen and Conrad John Masabo
Welcome to Tirza van Bruggen and Conrad John Masabo who started their postdoc positions on the research project ‘Universal Aspirations vs. Geopolitical Divides: Imagining the World as a “Post-Millennial” in the SDG Era’. Their arrival marks the official kickoff of the project that investigates how youth in Tanzania and Denmark locally (dis)engage with sustainability and development as well as the tensions between global imaginaries, placed experiences, universal aspirations and geopolitical divides.
ARTICLE
Can the world’s youth unite across geopolitical divides to address the Sustainable Development Goals?
Young people who are committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and are combating climate change or tackling other global challenges, may have unequal opportunities to participate, depending on where they come from in the world. How do young people experience the discrepancy between expectations of equal, global partnerships and their very different life circumstances? This is what Associate Professor Mette Fog Olwig from Roskilde University will investigate in a new research project.
Base at Roskilde University
The centre is based at the Department of Social Sciences and Business
Participating research units: International Development Research Group // Socio-Economic Research Center
PhD-School: Doctoral School of Social Sciences and Business - International studies
Relevant degree programs: Global and Development Studies // International Studies // International Bachelor in Social Sciences
Research from Roskilde University
More information
Find additional information about the project Universal Aspirations vs. Geopolitical Divides
Contact
Mette Fog Olwig
Project leader, associate professor
Phone +45 4674 3596
mettefo@ruc.dk