UBE, partner of the Université populaire du climat et de la biodiversité

Supported by Dijon Métropole, UBE, INRAE and Lattitude21, the Université populaire du climat et de la biodiversité is a series of short lectures open to the general public. The aim of these conferences is to disseminate local scientific knowledge on subjects relating to climate and biodiversity, providing an opportunity for discussion and sharing.

Two upcoming conferences :

Ecology is not for me, not for us?

Moderated by Jean-Philippe Pierron, Philosopher at Université Bourgogne Europe, Director of the ‘Values of Care’ Chair

Wednesday 14 May, 6.30-8pm, Salle Henry-Berger at the Tabourot des Accords cultural centre in Saint-Apollinaire

While environmental warnings are multiplying, the majority of people continue to live as if nothing had happened. Between active mobilisation on the one hand and climate sceptic rhetoric on the other, a broad zone of indifference seems to be taking hold. Why is this? Is it the effect of an overload of alarming information? A feeling of powerlessness in the face of global challenges? Or a mistrust of solutions perceived as too extreme?

Understanding these mechanisms opens the way to change. How can we transform this indifference into awareness and action? How can we make ecology not a constraint, but a free and motivating choice? It’s not just a matter of ‘making a difference’, but of reinventing our relationship with nature, no longer as a resource to be exploited, but as our source, intimately linked to our very existence.

My house, my car: why are they so important?

Moderated by Hervé Marchal, Professor of Sociology at Université Bourgogne Europe and MSH Dijon, Tuesday 3 June, 6.30-8pm, Salle Polyvalente, Magny-sur-Tille

Urban expansion, the rise of the car and urban sprawl have profoundly transformed our landscapes, our habits and our aspirations. This development has often been to the detriment of rural areas and at the cost of increasing land artificialisation.

One of the strongest symbols of this is the strong attachment to the single-family home: it embodies a widely shared ideal, inherited from decades of development focused on individual comfort.

But today, the climate crisis and the collapse of biodiversity are calling these dynamics into question. In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, our entire way of life needs to be questioned.

Through research carried out in the field, sociologist Hervé Marchal offers keys to a better understanding of these choices and the social logic behind them.

Find out more here