Overview
Third cultures – the blending of different cultural experiences during an individual’s formative years – have the potential to trigger a shift towards inclusive and sustainable mobility. The MSCA-funded MobileWorlds project explores how third cultures can be mobilised for integrating sociocultural diversity into today's institutions. Comparing northern and southern perspectives in cities that share a deeply rooted history of cultural diversity and notable achievements in inclusive and sustainable mobility will provide a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of third cultures and their potential. The project will develop novel methods, namely integrating participatory and artistic methodologies, for community engagement and co-creation. These will then be applied to mobility planning processes in Bergen (Norway) and Porto (Portugal).
The overall goal of MobileWorlds is to explore pathways to better integrate socio-cultural diversity into today's institutions, so they may better deal with contemporary challenges of sustainable mobility and societal inequalities. Such pathways are sought by engaging explicitly with third culture experiences to identify concrete diverse imaginaries and allowing these to feed into equally diverse solutions that can realistically be implemented. Third cultures are unique cultures that emerge from contact with different home and contextual cultures during the formative years of an individual. These third cultures are increasingly common in a globalising world, and may have important repercussions for imaginaries for sustainable and just mobility futures. As such, they provide promising sources for pathways that integrate socio-cultural diversity into today's institutions. Bergen, Norway and Porto, Portugal are known for cultural diversity and advancement in sustainable mobility. Combined, they provide both a Northern and a Southern European perspective and a particularly interesting context within which to research this subject. MobileWorlds delineates four key objectives: (1) To solidify and expand the concept of third cultures, (2) To develop methods and methodologies that encourage artistic engagement of all ages and socio-cultural groups in mobility planning, (3) To engage communities in mobility planning through arts-based events and activities, and (4) To support my future career development through arts-based research and engagement training and expanding academic and artistic networks and experience. The hands-on experience and training will help to accomplish my career goals securing an Assistant Professor position in the field of Mobility Planning or working in public engagement for an NGO promoting sustainable mobility. With such a position I hope to contribute to improve the sustainability and justice of the world through diverse and inclusive approaches.