Paper short abstract:

Tuvalu´s plan to build a digital version of itself and Ursula Poznanski´s dystopian eco-thriller Cryptos (2020), both force us to consider which new forms governments will take in virtual worlds as our planet becomes uninhabitable - and they offer interesting options for fresh North-South dialogues.

Paper long abstract:

Starting point for this paper´s “bi-polar” reflection is Tuvalu´s plan to build a digital version of itself (http://www.tuvalu.tv; https://youtu.be/IWEdkWnVkJo?feature=shared) and Ursula Poznanski´s dystopian eco-thriller Cryptos (2020), which portrays a world in which living in different virtual worlds has become more desirable as most of planet Earth has become uninhabitable due to climate change (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptos_(Roman). Both “hyperreal” events raise a number of interesting questions, for example, what does “peace” mean in the metaverse where jurisdiction and democracy is not as clearly defined?

The “sinking islands of the Pacific” have repeatedly served as an iconic site for global climate crisis discourse. Often, this has led to the spread of counter-productive “othering” narratives, which stimulated climate voyeurism as well as climate tourism (Farbotko 2010). Offering a cultural narratological and eco-translation studies perspective, this contributor wants to explore the possibilities for establishing sustained cross-cultural exchange between Germany and Tuvalu. Presenting insights from the recently concluded “Eine Uni – ein Buch: Die JGU liest Whalerider” (https://eine-uni-ein-buch.uni-mainz.de/), which was quite successful in creating ad hoc connections between students and scholars at the University of Mainz and the University of Dunedin, I hope to enter into fruitful conversation with other participants who have been wayfinding across similar North-South lines.