From Conference Panels to Hill Walks: Our 2025 RGS-Conference Experience
Last summer, our research group participated in the Annual International Conference of the Royal Geographical Society (with IGB), hosted by the University of Birmingham. The conference, one of the field’s key international events, was chaired by Professor Patricia Noxolo (University of Birmingham, UK) and centred on the theme “Geographies of Creativity / Creative Geographies.”
Across a variety of thematic sessions, screenings, interactive workshops and panel discussions, the conference offered a dynamic space for engaging with current debates in geographical research. Creativity emerged not only as an object of study, but also as a methodological and conceptual lens, shaping how research is conducted, communicated, and reimagined. The programme fostered lively exchange across disciplines and perspectives, opening up new ways of thinking about geographical knowledge production.
Presenting Our Research
Our working group actively contributed to these conversations by presenting some of the group’s ongoing research projects. The sessions provided a valuable opportunity to share ideas, receive thoughtful feedback, and situate our research within broader debates in human geography and related fields.
Among the contributions from our group were:
- Dr. Sandra Petermann’s presentation on Micronations, “Micronations: Imagined Sovereignties and the Creation of New Spaces of Hope”
- Dr. Astrid Matejcek’s talk on humanitarian infrastructures, “Beyond the Box – What the Abolition of a Shelter Technology Reveals about the Material Politics of Humanitarian Aid”
- Dr. Mara Linden’s presentation on Global Health Geographies, “The Folded Temporalities of Vaccine Distribution”
- and Everjoy Grace Chiimba’s work on disaster communication, “Art as Disaster Communication: Grassroots Participatory Storytelling in Chimanimani after Cyclone Idai”
A Conference Beyond London
We were very happy to have Mara Linden guide us through Birmingham’s sprawling campus — a place she knows well, as she completed her M.A. in International Relations there some years ago. While the conference took place at the University of Birmingham this time, it will be held in London in 2026. The annual conference is traditionally hosted for two consecutive years at the Royal Geographical Society’s localities and Imperial College in South Kensington, London, and takes place at a different UK university every third year. Actually, Birmingham hosting the annual conference coincided with the University’s 125th anniversary! With up to 2,000 participants per day over three days, the campus became a lively hub of discussion, exchange and movement.
High Up Malvern’s Windy Peaks
Energised and full of ideas, we then took our well-nourished minds to a writing retreat in Malvern, south-west of Birmingham. Alongside focused time to write and move our research projects forward, the retreat created space for informal conversations, shared reflections and recharge. Our group also hiked through the Malvern Hills and up to their windswept summits—where, as we learned, doctors have recommended taking an “air douche” since the 19th century!—after which we enjoyed dinner and a pint in the local pub. Thus, the retreat offered the perfect balance, clearing our heads and inviting fresh perspectives.
