International College of Innovation co-hosted a live webinar with the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow to talk about Energy Transition in Poland and Taiwan
Date :
2022-11-02
Department :
International College of Innovation
【Article by International College of Innovation】
The International College on Innovation at NCCU hosted a live webinar course entitled "Energy Transition in Poland And Taiwan. Answers from STS and Sociology" with the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and also the Center for Innovative Democracy on October 17th, 2022. The speaker includes Prof. Aleksandra Wagner, Prof. Tadeusz Rudek from the Jagiellonian University, Prof.Yang from the International College of Innovation and from the Centre of Innovation.
Social imaginary in STS context, in Professor Aleksandra Wagner and Prof. Tadeusz Rudek's speech, is defined as a collectively held and performed vision of desirable futures, a shared understanding of forms of social life and social order. Therefore questions of how people think about energy, how they use energy, what kind of institutions are created around it, what is important in creating creative meaning, and most importantly, what imagines shape society were raised.
Ever since the communist system collapsed, Poland had been facing intense political and economic change. Later entering the EU in 2014, demands defined by the EU's Decarbonisation, Digitalization, Decentralization policy further shaped Poland's energy policies and imagination. While changes are already hard to accept by some, the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine is making the transformation process harder. The imaginaries of energy in Poland however, continue to surround risks, uncertainties as well as the call for modernization, independence, and security. Nuclear energy thus became a primary source of energy for Poland to reduce their reliance on Russian import coals.
Afterward, assistant professor Yang of the International College of Innovation, National ChengChi University began his presentation named "Imaging a Modest and Responsive Technology - Locality, Materiality and Sociotechnical Imagination". Within the lecture, case studies of the aftermath of the disaster brought on by the Morakot Typhoon were presented. We see how the unexpected disaster alternated geographic and forced local economic practices to transform. The assemblage of Grouper fish and wax apple enabled by new farming techniques driven by local pride combined with responsive local government programs was not merely a substitute for traditional practices, but created opportunities and inventiveness for youngsters to return. Furthermore, rehabilitation programs promoted the installment of PV's on the destroyed, aiming to simultaneously cultivate water and generate electricity. Which in fact could support the livelihoods of devastated locals, rehabilitate land, and was also an initial experiment on the flexible PV installation.
Concluding, these case studies represented an alternative sociotechnical imaginary that attributes technoscience to values of responsiveness and resilience grounded in the locality. It is a technoscience of conditionality and flexibility, of endless actions and reactions among local human actors, materiality, and the environment which highlights the importance of democratic responsive technology.
After a short break, the Centre for Innovation Democracy started the speech "Experimental and Innovative Participatory Mechanism in the Post-Nuclear Power Era" with the 2050 net zero carbon emission policy and the question of "how to enable the actors from different knowledge systems to think about the policy dilemma of nuclear waste and feel obligated to contribute to energy transitions and energy justice?" By extending the definition of stakeholders, Cross-domain collaboration and innovative participatory communication methods were able to reshape the public perception and stimulate new solutions and new visions. As a creative format, the 2020 Taipei Biennale - Theater of Negotiation for the Pending Future of Nuclear Waste emerged. Through description, photos, and video records, we see how such a fairly equal communication environment enabled participants to share their knowledge, experience, and even emotional connections, which enriched debates on issues, noting that citizen awareness and civic literacy had always been crucial for achieving energy democracy.
Last, guest of honor Dr. Leslie Mabon from Scotland concluded that the event represents the idea of energy transitions being responsive in a new democracy, showing how different infrastructures, relations, and ways of working towards the future, led to the divergence of historical roles of nuclear power and possible futures in Poland and Taiwan. Resilience in response to environmental or geopolitical shocks is commonly seen, with innovation emerging as a result. Social and political decisions, therefore, may create a more localized or bottom-up social, technological, or energy system.
The International College on Innovation at NCCU hosted a live webinar course entitled "Energy Transition in Poland And Taiwan. Answers from STS and Sociology" with the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and also the Center for Innovative Democracy on October 17th, 2022. The speaker includes Prof. Aleksandra Wagner, Prof. Tadeusz Rudek from the Jagiellonian University, Prof.Yang from the International College of Innovation and from the Centre of Innovation.
Social imaginary in STS context, in Professor Aleksandra Wagner and Prof. Tadeusz Rudek's speech, is defined as a collectively held and performed vision of desirable futures, a shared understanding of forms of social life and social order. Therefore questions of how people think about energy, how they use energy, what kind of institutions are created around it, what is important in creating creative meaning, and most importantly, what imagines shape society were raised.
Ever since the communist system collapsed, Poland had been facing intense political and economic change. Later entering the EU in 2014, demands defined by the EU's Decarbonisation, Digitalization, Decentralization policy further shaped Poland's energy policies and imagination. While changes are already hard to accept by some, the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine is making the transformation process harder. The imaginaries of energy in Poland however, continue to surround risks, uncertainties as well as the call for modernization, independence, and security. Nuclear energy thus became a primary source of energy for Poland to reduce their reliance on Russian import coals.
Afterward, assistant professor Yang of the International College of Innovation, National ChengChi University began his presentation named "Imaging a Modest and Responsive Technology - Locality, Materiality and Sociotechnical Imagination". Within the lecture, case studies of the aftermath of the disaster brought on by the Morakot Typhoon were presented. We see how the unexpected disaster alternated geographic and forced local economic practices to transform. The assemblage of Grouper fish and wax apple enabled by new farming techniques driven by local pride combined with responsive local government programs was not merely a substitute for traditional practices, but created opportunities and inventiveness for youngsters to return. Furthermore, rehabilitation programs promoted the installment of PV's on the destroyed, aiming to simultaneously cultivate water and generate electricity. Which in fact could support the livelihoods of devastated locals, rehabilitate land, and was also an initial experiment on the flexible PV installation.
Concluding, these case studies represented an alternative sociotechnical imaginary that attributes technoscience to values of responsiveness and resilience grounded in the locality. It is a technoscience of conditionality and flexibility, of endless actions and reactions among local human actors, materiality, and the environment which highlights the importance of democratic responsive technology.
After a short break, the Centre for Innovation Democracy started the speech "Experimental and Innovative Participatory Mechanism in the Post-Nuclear Power Era" with the 2050 net zero carbon emission policy and the question of "how to enable the actors from different knowledge systems to think about the policy dilemma of nuclear waste and feel obligated to contribute to energy transitions and energy justice?" By extending the definition of stakeholders, Cross-domain collaboration and innovative participatory communication methods were able to reshape the public perception and stimulate new solutions and new visions. As a creative format, the 2020 Taipei Biennale - Theater of Negotiation for the Pending Future of Nuclear Waste emerged. Through description, photos, and video records, we see how such a fairly equal communication environment enabled participants to share their knowledge, experience, and even emotional connections, which enriched debates on issues, noting that citizen awareness and civic literacy had always been crucial for achieving energy democracy.
Last, guest of honor Dr. Leslie Mabon from Scotland concluded that the event represents the idea of energy transitions being responsive in a new democracy, showing how different infrastructures, relations, and ways of working towards the future, led to the divergence of historical roles of nuclear power and possible futures in Poland and Taiwan. Resilience in response to environmental or geopolitical shocks is commonly seen, with innovation emerging as a result. Social and political decisions, therefore, may create a more localized or bottom-up social, technological, or energy system.