Geography in Norway is at a crossroads. The discipline is under increasing societal pressure, with increasing demands for education and research to align with needs from the job market and society. Concurrently, there is a trend towards making educational programs more specialized and professionalized. In this situation, disciplines such as geography can be seen as outdated and marginalized. This can be disadvantageous to a field that has traditionally had a broad approach and works with a diversity of topics, methods, and perspectives. At the same time, the world is in a period characterized by several intertwined crises, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, rising populism, democratic backsliding, global inequality, and geopolitical competition. There has never been a greater need for a field that can integrate and critically analyze these complex and intertwined challenges.

Geography, with its broad approach, is uniquely positioned to offer education, insights, and solutions that can help society navigate through these crises. By preserving and strengthening the breadth of the field, while adapting to new demands and expectations, geography can play a crucial role in shaping a sustainable and just future.

Geographers work in many different industries at many different levels. It is rare that we meet on a common platform. Against this backdrop, the conference has the ambitious goal...

...to gather "all" geographers; from research institutions, universities and colleges, from private and public organizations, and education.

The conference will give geographers the opportunity to meet to present and discuss key empirical and theoretical contributions and challenges, as well as maintaining and renewing their professional networks.

The conference will offer inspiring plenary lectures and interesting sessions.

Professor Emeritus Michal Jones (NTNU) will give the opening lecture where, based on his 50 years of experience at the Department of Geography (NTNU), he will reflect on the history of Norwegian geography in relation to the current crossroads, as well as what future developments for geography in Norway might be.

Professor Håvard Haarstad (UiB) will also give a plenary lecture on the second day of the conference, focusing on technology, business, and sustainable development. Preliminary title: 'Geographies for navigating turbulent times'.

We are also planning several parallel sessions, with two to three program segments on the first day and two program segments on the second day. The sessions can be traditional paper presentations, but we are also open to alternative sessions in the form of, for example, panel discussions.

Note! The conference has no agreements with hotels regarding conference rates; accommodation must be arranged individually.

Conference fee:

The registration deadline is November 1

Registration

The thematic content of the conference:

• Societal development, innovation, and sustainable transformations
• Climate change and its effects on landscapes and society
• Local communities and regional changes in Norway
• Development, globalization, and geopolitics
• Education, school, and didactics at a crossroads
• Environmental and resource issues in turbulent times

The conference is organized by: The Norwegian Geographical Society in collaboration with the Department of Geography and Social Anthropology, NTNU.