Special session:
MNEMOTECHNICS AND PLACE FORMATION: CONVENTIONAL MUSEUMS AND OPEN-AIR LANDSCAPE MUSEOGRAPHY
Dr. Konstantinos Moraitis
Professor Emeritus N.T.U.A.
Content:
In his book Writing and Difference (French: L’écriture et la différence) the French philosopher Jacques Derrida describes memory as the key mental function that forms human cognition, on an individual as well as collective level. Nevertheless, he notes, memory cannot be stabilized. It is, continuously, in a state of transformation, not because of the continuous change of the surrounding socio-cultural context solely, but also because of the intentional political control.
It is in this context that The Archeology of Knowledge (French: L’archéologie du savoir), the reciprocal evolution of knowledge, can never be objective in an unaltered manner. In his homonymous theoretical approach, Michel Foucault insists that we must not try to trace a linear history of ideas. On the contrary, we ought to indicate the structures and rules that organize the social discourse and, thus, unveil the historical and social conditions that regulate the production of memory, and their association with the power influences that try to form them.
Place references have always been important receptors for the formation or contestation of collective memory. Monumental structures, buildings, sculptures, and monumental open-air public urban places intend to stabilize, present, and promote historical memory. At the same time, symbolic landscape references, ‘Arcadias’, dispersed all over the world, may also contribute to the emplacement of collective, cultural, and political imagery. In the opposite direction, it is in the open-air public urban places that social dispute, the embodied ‘discourse’, the collective debates, often aggressive, nevertheless socially important, are presented.
Concluding: In what ways could we promote critical ‘mnemotechnics’, critical reference to social memory, to social historic past and social future, using place formation? Could we re-‘place’ conventional monumentality and conventional museums, could we ‘place’ critical memory and open-air museography, in the urban-scape or in the out-of-cities landscape? In what ways could we invigorate critical discourse, using real material landscape formation or navigation to immaterial associations? Could this last immaterial voyage be invigorated through digital approaches, or would it be mutilated through the disembodiment of cultural relations?
Special session:
AI, GEOAI, AND AR
FOR LANDSCAPE PLANNING AND SUSTAINABILITY
Dr.Dr.Fivos Papadimitriou
Department of Geography, University of Tübingen
Content:
This special session focuses on the integration of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) in sustainable landscape planning at local or regional scale.
Faced with ever-growing environmental problems, cities and regions today have access to revolutionary technologies enabling analysis, visualization and transformation of landscapes towards achieving sustainability goals.
This special session addresses interdisciplinary research exploring applications of AI (of all sorts), AR (e.g., for evaluating proposed interventions in the landscape), GeoAI and geospatial analytics for integrating diverse environmental data into planning, as well as digital games and gamification.
Hence, the thematic areas addressed include (but are not limited to) predictive modeling of landscapes, immersive spatial visualizations, interactive landscape design, intelligent environmental monitoring and data-driven approaches for green infrastructure.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, GeoAI, Landscape, Games, Sustainability
Special session:
ISLANDS IN TRANSITION: INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY, TOURISM AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE
Maria P. Doumi
Associate Professor, Department of Tourism Economics and Management, University of the Aegean
Andreas Alexopoulos
Associate Professor, Department of Accounting and Finance, University of West Attica
Iason-Nikolaos Koufodontis
Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism Economics and Management, University of the Aegean
Ioanna Pagoni
Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism Economics and Management, University of the Aegean
Eleftheria Klontza
Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism Economics and Management, University of the Aegean
Angelis Vasilis
Emeritus Professor, Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean
Content:
This Special Session aims to explore contemporary theoretical, methodological and applied approaches related to the sustainable, resilient and inclusive development of cities, regions, rural areas and tourism destinations. In the context of complex environmental, social, economic and technological transformations, the need for integrated and evidence-based models of spatial and tourism development is becoming increasingly imperative.
The session focuses on the interconnections between urban, regional, rural and tourism systems, highlighting issues of multi-level governance, strategic and participatory planning, digital transformation, smart specialisation, circular economy, bioeconomy, social innovation and climate resilience. Emphasis is placed on the role of sustainable and smart tourism as a field that connects local resources, cultural heritage, agri-food systems, local production networks and destination experiences.
Special session:
“VIRTUAL CITIES” AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IN EU FRAMEWORK
CULTURAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVES
Vassilis Bokolas
Scientific director, XENIOS POLIS, Neapolis University
vbokolas@xeniospolis.gr
Tonia Vassilakou
Professor, Head of Dept. of Public Health Policy, University of West Attica
Andrea Colantoni
Associate Professor, University of Tuscia
Nicola Ferrigni
Associate Professor, University of Tuscia
Stavros Kaperonis
Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Bogdana Nosova
Associate Professor, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Efi Ntrouva
Department of International Relations and European Union, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Content:
The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is now strongly linked to their social orientation and the relevant policies for: poverty eradication, promoting decent work, social inclusion, equal access to resources and services, strengthening quality education, protecting citizens/users/consumers, supporting specific groups such as young people, the elderly, people with disabilities, migrants, etc.
More specifically, however, the European Union (EU) strategic framework currently focuses on policies that promote social cohesion towards the social sustainability of the so-called digital transformation (SOSDIT). The EU is oriented towards strengthening both institutions and actors, as well as citizens (consumers, users, learners, etc.). To this end, Europe’s Digital Decade 2030 is being implemented, investing in the development of digital infrastructure, the upgrading of digital skills, the digital transformation of businesses and public services, the protection of users and the defense of their rights, with the aim of achieving a competitive and environmentally sustainable economy that includes every citizen.
This vigilance is justified, as many aspects of modern life — work, socializing, shopping, education, entertainment — are mediated digitally. Furthermore, physical spaces are also mediated by technologies to such an extent that attempts to understand the concept of “space” are incomplete without considering digital and virtual levels. Indeed, since modes of action and interaction are transferred (and in many cases restricted) to virtual environments, we can now speak of the progressive formation of “virtual cities”. The term “virtual city” is nowadays framed by the processes of “dialogue” and (co)operation between physical and virtual spaces, resulting in the creation of a virtual dimension, which gradually establishes its own practices of formation, defines the scope of action of the people within it, institutionalises – as a product of time – the rights and obligations of its users, “citizens” and ultimately “gives birth” to (corresponding) structures of governance.
In this context, sociological approaches and communication studies provide key theoretical frameworks for interpreting how digital environments shape relationships of interaction, identity, and power. Their integration allows for a critical examination of the ways in which practices, institutions, and symbolic orders are transferred to—and transformed within—virtual spaces. Interdisciplinary research is therefore essential for understanding the conditions under which social sustainability can be achieved, as it reveals not only the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion, but also the evolving logic of governance, participation, and meaning-making in “virtual cities.”
Key Words: digital cities/ environments, social sustainability, EU, communication, sociology, users, skills, vulnerable groups.
Special session:
HISTORIC URBAN LANDSCAPES AND URBAN RESILIENCE: RETHINKING CULTURAL HERITAGE IN CONTEMPORARY CITIES
Dr. Dimelli Despina
Professor, Technical University of Crete
Content:
This session would explore the interplay between historical urban environments and strategies for building resilience in the face of climate change, social transformation, and economic challenges. It would welcome contributions from scholars, practitioners, and postgraduate researchers working at the intersection of heritage preservation, sustainable urban planning, and community-based resilience.
Key Words: historical urban environments, building resilience, cultural landscapes, cultural sustainability, urban recilience.