An exhibition, panel discussions and film screenings bring findings of the UKRI-GCRF GREAT project together in Lancaster this week at a closing conference.
The GREAT project is a four-year Lancaster-led, interdisciplinary research project which has worked with and learned from communities living in informal settlements in areas of transition in Cali, Colombia and Havana, Cuba, in particular, the empowerment or disenfranchisement they feel as a result of off-grid policies and initiatives.
The project is closing with a conference hosted at Lancaster University on 21-22 September 21-22 September 2023 where findings will be presented in a film screening, panel discussions and a specially commissioned installation titled 'The City Off The Map'.
Created by Imitating The Dog, the installation, launched in Cali in July, is a tribute to the power of art and storytelling in shaping a people's narrative and will be on exhibition in the LICA building over the 2-day conference, moving to a place to be confirmed on campus afterwards.
The GREAT ('Gridding Equitable Futures in Areas of Transition (GREAT) in Cali, Colombia and Havana, Cuba') project was first announced in November 2020 to understand what the real voices of residents of informal settlements in Latin America and the Caribbean are and how they can be made part of their future and their developing communities.
In November 2022, academic partner Universidad del Valle in Cali launched The Laboratory of Popular Neighbourhoods (The PopuLab) in the city of Cali. The lab offers a place of thinking and practice around the meaning of citizenship which brings together people from 'popular neighbourhoods' (informal settlements), local authorities, and academia.
Further findings and impact of the project in Cali and Havana include influencing policies and perceptions affecting communities locally through policy briefings and creative outputs such as the exhibition. Members of the GREAT team in both cities have also joined expert panels drafting and discussing the National Development Plans in Colombia and Cuba, highlighting their shortcomings and opportunities specifically relating to informal settlements and popular neighbourhoods.
Co-lead and Co-Investigator of the project Dr. Carlos López Galviz says: "I'm very thrilled to have the chance to come together in person, with a team of 21 researchers from four institutions and three countries who have worked successfully through challenging times, not least covid. 'Every closing is an opening', as the Secretary of Housing in Cali told us at the launch of the exhibition last July.
"While we are taking stock of many important achievements and planning for a range of academic and non-academic outputs, we are also exploring ways of deepening and diversifying the relationships made through the GREAT project in ways that continue to create positive change for the communities involved."
The GREAT project (2020-2024), led by Lancaster University, brings together three other academic institutions: University College London, Universidad del Valle (Colombia), and the Technological University of Havana CUJAE (Cuba).
The project was funded by the UK Research and Innovation through the Global Challenges Research Fund and was one of 141 new international development research projects tackling an array of global challenges.
