Chamada de trabalhos – terceira edição de 2025

Cultural Policies in Review, an electronic publication of the Rede de Estudos em Políticas Culturais, announces the call for papers for the third edition of 2025 (v. 18 n. 3), which, in addition to scientific articles and reviews on Cultural Policy and related topics, will include the following thematic Dossier:

Culture and Climate Change: Policies to Regenerate the World

Responsible editors: Alexandre Barbalho (UECE), Cecilia Dinardi (Goldsmiths, University of London), Gustavo Pereira Vidigal (C de Cultura).

One path forward in overcoming the numerous contemporary challenges posed by decades of development strategies, based on the exploitation of people, cultures, and nature, is to surpass binary thinking, and thus, the distinction between nature and culture. As Bruno Latour argues, this distinction in the Western or Westernized hegemonic tradition seeks to express that “the human is, above all, or that it is also, a cultural being who must escape or, in any case, distinguish itself from nature” (LATOUR, 2020, p. 33). Therefore, according to the author, it would be necessary to introduce an opposition between the Nature/Culture binary and, on the other hand, a term that would include them as a particular case, which he proposes to call "making world," defined as “what opens, on one hand, to the multiplicity of existents and, on the other, to the multiplicity of ways in which they exist” (LATOUR, 2020, p. 66), thus avoiding focusing solely on the diversity of cultures. From perspectives that recognize a new era characterized either by the effects of human action, the Anthropocene (LEWIS; MASLIN, 2015), or by the capitalist form of organizing nature, the Capitalocene (MOORE, 2017), it becomes evident that humanity has historically made the planet more inhospitable to its own members and to other beings.
This raises the question, for example, about the place of Brazilian subaltern cultural expressions, such as indigenous and quilombola cultures, and how they "make world"; how they form quilombos and challenge a concept like development; how they advance, through their practices and theoretical elaborations, the critique of biocolonialism (BELTRAN-BARRERA, 2022); and, in short, how they implement cultural policies that create misunderstandings with those promoted by the State (BARBALHO, 2020). It challenges us to think, as an alternative to the concept of sustainable development, about biointeraction as a form of communion among the various elements of nature in collective processes of producing the material and symbolic conditions of communal life (SANTOS, 2015).
We conclude, then, with the words of the Brazilian indigenous thinker Ailton Krenak: "It is possible to have human development within the forest with other technologies, with other horizons of social life, with many alternatives from within the forest" (KRENAK, 2022, p. 13). In other words, it is necessary to place culture at the center of climate action.
Despite the recognized importance of integrated approaches to strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, the understanding of the role that culture must play in generating the systemic transformation necessary to address this common concern of humanity remains significantly limited. While forums and international agreements are beginning to address the negative impacts of climate change on the preservation of cultural heritage, the exercise of cultural rights, and the protection of cultural diversity, the development of culture-based strategies for effective climate action is still in its infancy. In this context, we need to advance in understanding how knowledge, practices, and cultural policies can contribute to communicating risks, adopting strategies, and developing solutions related to the climate crisis.
In November 2025, Brazil will host the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) in the city of Belém, Pará, and culture needs to occupy a relevant place in its discussions and resolutions. On November 4 and 5, 2024, the Ministry of Culture of Brazil held the International Seminar on Culture and Climate Change, a significant milestone for understanding the place to be occupied. Thus, the upcoming dossier will receive proposals addressing one or more of the following themes, or other related topics that contribute to building this social space for negotiation:

1. The impact of climate change on the protection of cultural expressions and the guarantee of the exercise of cultural rights, especially regarding cultural (material and immaterial) and natural heritage;
2. The cultural dimension in the current stage of the climate crisis and its centrality in promoting climate action, addressing issues related to different worldviews, development models, consumption habits, and lifestyles;
3. The contribution of cultural and creative sectors to climate change and strategies for reducing this impact, considering areas such as fashion, events (including music), and museums;
4. The involvement of cultural agendas and agents in national and international forums relevant to climate governance, considering platforms such as COP, BRICS, and G20;
5. The role of cultural policies in the development of solutions for climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, especially in relation to the knowledge systems of indigenous and traditional communities;
6. The intersection of human rights, culture, and the environment, addressing issues such as climate justice, environmental racism, climate migration, and the concept of "buen vivir" (good living);
7. The role of the arts and media in mobilizing society to raise awareness about risks and adopt strategies and solutions related to climate change;
8. Experiences of environmental education through art and culture, including alternative pedagogies, socio-environmental activism practices, and initiatives in educational and cultural institutions; and
9. National and international funding mechanisms for cultural initiatives related to the environmental agenda, including issues such as the disconnection between climate and cultural funding policies and the practice of greenwashing by companies.

Submission of articles: until April 30, 2025, exclusively through the journal’s system.
Expected publication: second semester of 2025.