Workshop Description
This interactive workshop seeks to address the lack of focus on global dynamics and the limited understanding of the complexity inherent in the concept of the “Global South” within environmental and climate discourses and narratives. The primary objective is to facilitate participants’ progression towards a more embodied comprehension of Global South experiences and global dynamics. The underlying theory posits that by engaging in an embodied experience, participants can more effectively internalise and apply their rational understanding of these issues. This, in turn, is expected to promote the integration of Global South perspectives into their professional work and activism, thereby contributing to the essential collective effort to prevent the perpetuation of colonial patterns. The workshop aims to cultivate a collective and safe space for learning, encouraging participants to challenge themselves and embrace discomfort together. It recognizes the shared experience of living within a colonial system—a system that we did not choose to be part of but one from which we bear a collective responsibility to seek liberation.

Methodology and Background Information
The design of this workshop was informed by pedagogical methodologies rooted in the Theatre of the Oppressed of Boal (2002) and Mindel’s Dreambody Theory (1995). Prior to the development of the workshop, a six-month qualitative research phase was conducted, involving in-depth interviews with individuals from the Global South who are currently situated in Global North contexts. This research was supplemented by a comprehensive literature review and ethnographic study, all of which collectively informed the workshop’s design. The workshop is grounded in the theory of hermeneutical marginalisation and employs a real-life case study as its foundational basis, aiming to introduce learning through an alternative epistemological approach.

Outcome and Impacts
A comprehensive instructional guide was developed to facilitate the replication of the workshop. This guide is freely accessible on Bascule’s website and is disseminated following the workshop’s implementation in various settings. The workshop has also been adapted for online delivery to students of the Degrowth Online Master’s program. Additionally, and has been adapted to different timeframes to be presented at the Degrowth Conference of 2024 in Pontevedra and at the 2024 Roots Winter School in Athens. Feedback from these sessions has been collected and continues to inform future iterations of the workshop.

The workshop guide is available for use here.