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Short abstract:

This is a demonstration of our work in progress. We will share stories-in-the-making, images, and speculative impressions from the participatory living lab eco-SIT [Sense, Imagine, Transform], which offers sense-full experiments with French teenagers for a new ecological imaginary.

Long abstract:

Imagine a living lab where young adults engage in sense-full experimentation with the world, rediscovering the senses and imaginaries of eating, moving, and gardening for more livable futures. Imagine a collaborative space where participants unlearn and relearn what it means to live "sustainably". This is the collective vision we are cultivating in south west France, bringing together local associations and researchers in the living lab eco-SIT [Sense, Imagine, Transform].

At the core of our endeavor lies an initiative designed by and for adolescents, aimed at fostering new imaginaries and sensitivities to enhance the role and engagement of young adults in addressing the ecological crisis. We begin from the premise that the environmental crisis is fueled, in part, by a crisis of sense-ability – the capacity to sense the world and respond with care for these senses. Moreover, we insist that the crisis of sensitivity is intertwined with a crisis of imagination ('it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism' - Mark Fisher).

To address this complex web of challenges, we recognize the necessity of cultivating new imaginaries. Collaborating with young adults in rural areas, we facilitate monthly imagination workshops centered around four themes: Sensing the living (embracing gardening, permaculture, and forest walks), sensing taste (exploring eating and cooking), and sensing movement (engaging in dance improvisation).

In our contribution to the panel, we aim to share preliminary insights gleaned from four meetings of our living lab, presenting them through images, anecdotes, and reflective impressions.