On the 9th and 10th of November the Aurora virtual Biannual took place, hosted by the University of Duisburg-Essen. The theme of the Biannual was: Sustainable Resources and Mobility in Europe. The programme focused primarily on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, with supporting keynotes on mobility and aquatic ecosystems.
The first keynote by Florian Freitag of the University of Duisburg-Essen and Salvador Clave of Universitat Rovira i Virgili, addressed how we need to move towards sustainable tourism and highlighted how the pandemic had changed the view of travel towards a more sustainable approach to lessen the carbon dioxide emissions. The second keynote by Professor Bernd Sures of the University of Duisburg-Essen, explored the vast wealth and utility of water—as well as its scarcity. Professor Sures, an aquatic ecologist, found that future population growth, urban expansion and pollution are likely to create growing demands on water supplies. He said, “[…] it is imperative we begin discussing how to distribute scarce water resources.“
During the coffee breaks, the programme featured interviews with Academy in Exile artist Diren Demir who showcased two of their artworks, Map of the Seas and Calling back Nature. The Map of the Seas was produced especially for the biannual to support the theme of sustainability. In addition, Sara Mardini, a refugee from Syria, spoke on the criminalization of refugee aid and her own experience making that journey.
