Local Democratic Challenges: Environment, Inequalities and Resilient Cultural Mediation

The INTERNATIONAL SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION’s research committee on sociotechnics and sociological practice (isa-26) and the working group on global-local relations (ISA-WG01) in cooperation with the Sociology of Work and Employment Lab, Sociology Department, University of the Aegean, Lesvos, Greece and its partner, the Observatory on Combating Discrimination, Greek Center of Social Research (EKKE) organize the Conference Local Democratic Challenges: Environment, Inequalities and Resilient Cultural Mediation in Fragile / Transitional Communities (Sept. 9-11, 2019, Conference Center, Cooperative Bank of Chania, Chania, Crete, Greece), supported by the Cooperative Bank of Chania, with the patronage of the WEEC Network.

The ISA is interested in relating participation to a socio-technical process whereby local community cohesion issues emerge as dominant forms impressed by globalization forces on the one side, but also by new knowledge forms, such as info-technology, which require symmetries in the manner of holistic approaches to be co-founded at local level.

Territoriality becomes important as local labor needs to organize new forms of organization where info-technology becomes key for bio sciences, including services suchas, labor mobility. Tourism, culinary culture and gaming are cases in point. However, the key issue remains the social reproduction issues which are needed by the community. A dynamic knowledge based trusted network akin to an Orchestra maybe the key to communal sustainability. This requires local partnership and trusted political mediation, from the bottom, to reconcile divisions and galvanize the community.
«We are seeking papers whereby different forms of participation, inclusion/exclusion issues, empowerment, cooperation, define forms of social and rural developmentat local levelin order to bridge “separate” and often conflictual political communities of interest».

The problems of fragile and rural communities are of interest here.
How do power relationships allow for inclusion and how such partnerships can become more effective tools for sustainable local governance? What is the of sociological practice mediation and how such mediation can be recognized technicity, as management? Are welcomed papers focused on these issues leading to the overall consideration of the role of social capital, social economyand its role on local public (general interest) policy formation.

Organiser: Prof. George O. Tsobanoglou, Sociology of Labour Laboratory, University
of the Aegean, Lesvos, Vice-President, Research Committee RC26 Sociotechnics –
Sociological Practice, International Sociological Association.
Send your abstract (up to 250 words) along with your coordinates (Name, Prof. Association and a brief bio (up to 50 words) by July 1, 2019 to the following addresses:
Email: g.tsobanoglou@soc.aegean.gr and necoud@otenet.gr