The 3rd Sundarbans field school will take place from the 16th to the 22d of January 2026.
TRANSBOUNDARY, TRANSDISCIPLINARITY, TRANSFORMATION THROUGH TRANSITIONS (4T)
Creative Ethno-grapghies and Knowledge Co-creation for Viable Social-Ecologies
V2V Global Partnership, University of Waterloo, Canada in collaboration with SOR4D-funded ENGAGE4Sundarbans, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh
Venue: Kumirmari, Gosaba Block, The Sundarbans, India
January 16–22, 2026
Conventional research often marginalizes non-textual and experiential ways of knowing, recognizing, and appreciating the pluriverse. Addressing complex social-ecological challenges requires not only integrating diverse knowledge systems but also disseminating these plural explorations in multi-modal formats for wider reach. Creative ‘ethno-graphies’ that combine mainstream qualitative research with visualization techniques such as participatory photography, collage, co-curation of augmented artifacts, illustrative storytelling, and collaborative mapping as powerful tools of knowledge co-creation have the potential to craft transformative transdisciplinary outcomes.
Happening in the lap of the remote island village of Kumirmari, tucked deep inside the Indian Sundarbans, this field school is an immersive opportunity to co-learn and exchange more-than-academic/textual designs and translate co-created understanding into viable social-ecological pathways. Here, you will contribute to generating shared outputs – such as community exhibitions or participatory maps – that strengthen collective agency, inform adaptive governance, and support culturally-attuned stewardship towards more resilient, just and viable futures for volatile social-ecologies such as the Sundarbans and beyond.
This weeklong Winter School brings together a selected group of 20 graduate students and early-career researchers/professionals from academia, government, NGOs, and communities. It provides a creative platform to deliberate collaboratively and learn about concepts, approaches, and methods of creative ethno-grapghy and knowledge co-creation that help achieve inclusive transitions and pathways for transformation from vulnerability toward viability within the transboundary and transdisciplinary context of the Sundarbans. The School includes a creative mix of classroom teaching and field training in the heart of the world’s largest mangrove delta, the SUNDARBANS.
Dr. Prateep Kumar Nayak I Dr. Jenia Mukherjee I Dr. Samiya Selim I Dr. Anuradha Choudry
(Field School Directors)
Email: pnayak@uwaterloo.ca; jenia@hss.iitkgp.ac.in; samiya.selim@ulab.edu.bd; anuradha/sanskrit@hss.iitkgp.ac.in
