Open Cities Platform

In recent years, trans*ness has been a central component of heated debates on public space. Discussions on public bathrooms and the right to self-identify gender between trans* activists and anti-trans* feminists, for instance, have ignited transphobic discrimination and anxieties in various Western societies. At other times, trans* people themselves have raised their voices to address discomfort or injustice in public settings. To contemplate the complexities of urban gender passing, the Open Cities Platform welcomes you to a reading circle on trans*ness and cities on January 14, 2025. For, we might wonder: what do cities offer to trans* people? What remains foreclosed within urban environments? And how do bodies traversing gender boundaries experience these environments? Read more about this reading circle: https://lnkd.in/e2Gd46D4

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Three times a year, the Open Cities Platform awards 1000 euro seed grants that help temporary and/or permanent UU staff to expand their networks and collaborate with other scholars to organise 1-2 days events. These events could acquire different formats from symposia, to workshops, masterclasses, or even roundtable discussions. Interested in applying? See our website for more information: https://lnkd.in/eP9JjPFX. The deadline for the second application moment is January 10, 2025.

On December 5, 2024, the Open Cities Platform brings you another edition of their Monthly Research Seminars with dr. May Ee Wong (Utrecht University) and Charlotte Vekemans (University Ghent). Dr. May Ee Wong will present a book chapter on the speculative and speculating cities of planetary urban futures. It explains ‘Planetary Urban Futures’ through a survey of speculative cities mostly located in Asia and the Middle East (such as NEOM, Gardens by the Bay and Forest City) and their self-organizing ‘Smart-Eco’ rhetorical tropes and media forms which have emerged in the last 50 years. Charlotte Vekemans will present a project on heritage development as political projects in Madaba, Jordan. Following paradigmatic development practices across the globe, heritage development projects in Jordan have tried to open up new tourism markets around heritage sites. By tracing the material and social connections created through these projects, she explores the future-oriented political projects underpinning heritage development and the contestations that arise in its wake. Interested? Click here to sign up: https://lnkd.in/eeEJjzYH

In recent years, trans*ness has been a central component of heated debates on public space. Discussions on public bathrooms and the right to self-identify gender between trans* activists and anti-trans* feminists, for instance, have ignited transphobic discrimination and anxieties in various Western societies. At other times, trans* people themselves have raised their voices to address discomfort or injustice in public settings. To contemplate the complexities of urban gender passing, the Open Cities Platform welcomes you to a reading circle on trans*ness and cities on January 14, 2025. For, we might wonder: what do cities offer to trans* people? What remains foreclosed within urban environments? And how do bodies traversing gender boundaries experience these environments? Read more about this reading circle: https://lnkd.in/e2Gd46D4

On December 5, 2024, the Open Cities Platform brings you another edition of their Monthly Research Seminars on speculative and speculating cities of planetary urban futures and heritage development as political projects in Madaba, Jordan. This seminar has the pleasure to present the work of dr. May Ee Wong (Utrecht University) and Charlotte Vekemans (University Ghent). The Open Cities research-in-progress seminars are an engaging and collaborative space designed for Research Masters, PhD candidates, and all UU researchers and students from the departments of Media and Culture Studies, Anthropology, Human Geography and Spatial Planning, and beyond. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ekkGrx_g

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Three times a year, the Open Cities Platform awards 1000 euro seed grants that help temporary and/or permanent UU staff to expand their networks and collaborate with other scholars to organise 1-2 days events. These events could acquire different formats from symposia, to workshops, masterclasses, or even roundtable discussions. Interested in applying? See our website for more information: https://lnkd.in/eP9JjPFX. The deadline for the second application moment is January 10, 2025.

On December 5, 2024, the Open Cities Platform brings you another edition of their Monthly Research Seminars on speculative and speculating cities of planetary urban futures and heritage development as political projects in Madaba, Jordan. This seminar has the pleasure to present the work of dr. May Ee Wong (Utrecht University) and Charlotte Vekemans (University Ghent). The Open Cities research-in-progress seminars are an engaging and collaborative space designed for Research Masters, PhD candidates, and all UU researchers and students from the departments of Media and Culture Studies, Anthropology, Human Geography and Spatial Planning, and beyond. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ekkGrx_g

Last week, On Connection: Queer Festival Curation, Practice and Experimentation took place! Thanks to the efforts of Marijke de Valck, Cyd Sturgess, and Dianora Hollmann, the day consisted of enriching and inspiring talks, workshops, and screenings.

Tomorrow, On Connection: Queer Festival Curation, Practice and Experimentation is happening! Interested in a keynote on the history, objectives and challenges of film festivals? Or a public screening of four queer short films? Click here to read more: https://lnkd.in/emriHHEh

For everyone who wants to enjoy a free and welcoming evening of queer cinema and community: https://lnkd.in/eK5YGaMD , with films from TranScreen, queer.red, Transforming Cinema, and Queer Film Festival Utrecht.