We are thrilled to share the call for applications for Re-landing: Writing Eco-connections within Speculative Frames, a speculative fiction workshop led by Sanabel Abdel Rahman as part of the Conservation Futures Dialogues run by Global Diversity Foundation.

What is it?

This workshop will explore the possibilities of ecological (re)connections through decolonial frameworks. Utilising speculative modes, it will draw on literature and traditional practices like storytelling and embroidery to imagine alternative ways of connecting with the land as it fights settler colonialism and endures the ramifications of postcolonialism. We will read Palestinian/Indigenous literature, listen to audio clips, and share visual materials to establish divergent understandings and possibilities of connecting to (post)colonised land. The workshop will use the surrealist practice of automatic writing to evoke the imagination and prepare the landscape for writing and art-making while engaging in generative discussions. The workshop will guide each participant through creating a literary or visual work that builds on relevant themes.

While skilled facilitators will lead structured sessions, all participants will be invited  – well in advance – to contribute to the programme, leading sessions and actively contributing to the Exchange. We want this exchange to be a space where everyone not only learns from each other but also actively contributes to the community’s growth.

Why should you join?

This workshop offers the opportunity to delve into critical thinking and imaginative practices to re-situate landscape conservation within decolonial frameworks and to learn about how speculative fiction, magical realism and indigenous climate fiction can be mobilised as tools to foster radical imagination in a time of rampant polycrises and neocolonial dispossession.

By joining, you will be offered:

• A space to collectively unpack and discuss references and research around indigenous climate fiction, magical realism and Palestinian literature as spaces and tools to reimagine land ecologies and belonging otherwise; 
• Guidance into fostering a multimedia and multisensory storytelling practice rooted in decolonial frameworks;
• The possibility to develop a final creative work in the form of a piece of writing, a visual story or a sonic exploration to become part of an e-zine published on the Global Diversity Website; 
• A time to design and edit collectively both the final e-zine and a conclusive public online gathering to present your work.

Selected participants are expected to attend all sessions and proactively join the making of the final e-zine. As a symbolic gesture, participants will be offered a modest fee of 75 EUR for their time and commitment to the programme.