FUNDED PROJECTS

• Coordinator: Dr. Bianca Rita Cataldi (University of Galway)
• Other Partner Institutions: Comenius University Bratislava, Uppsala University, Ghent University

The ENLIGHT thematic network B-MOVE – Beyond Migration: Organisms, Matter, Voices, Ecologies sets out to interrogate migration and mobility from a more-than-human and multispecies perspective. At a time when dominant global narratives increasingly frame migration as a political and humanitarian crisis, B-MOVE invites ENLIGHT partners to collectively reimagine migration as an environmental, cultural and relational force. The ETN, anchored in transnational and interdisciplinary research, brings together scholars, art practitioners and students from the Arts and Humanities (especially languages, literatures and creative practices, migration studies, environmental art and ecoart) and STEM disciplines (environmental ecology and landscape management working on biodiversity and species protection, climate change, geo-soil-water protection and interaction of ecosystems). They will reflect on how the mobility of people, animals, plants, materials and ideas reshape not only societies, but also more-than-human realities. B-MOVE works towards these objectives by creating joint educational initiatives, transnational networking, itinerant art exhibitions, creative workshops and theoretical seminars.

This ETN is anchored in two key ENLIGHT flagships: “Culture and Creativity” and “Climate Change”. The network sets out to investigate the encounter and entanglements between species in relation to the theme of migration and mobility. Migration is a phenomenon shared across species and bodies, from biological to mineral, from human to animals, plants, microbiota, viruses, and information. Within this framework, the ETN interrogates climate change and its relation to migration, the ways in which environmental upheaval and migration inform and affect each other, and the consequences that these entanglements have on pedagogical methodologies, creativity and ethical frameworks. Creativity is an essential component of this project, insofar as creative practices can be used as tools for understanding migration and mobility through storytelling, ArtSci, visual practices and other forms of experimentation (i.e. seeded paper and seed bombing activities, according to proposed topics). The ETN’s environmental perspective adds a solid methodological basis to these creative practices while simultaneously responding to ENLIGHT’s emphasis on creativity as a tool for social change and epistemic transformation. B-MOVE is also rooted in the “Climate Change” flagship. It contributes to the scholarly and artistic investigation of climate change, providing students and researchers with the opportunity to explore the topic not only as a crisis and a global emergency, but as a lived experience that can be creatively visualised and narrated. The ETN addresses the environmental consequences of migration, the mobility as an existential inevitability of living and non-living entities, and the bio-cultural aspects of climate change. It involves students, scholars and the public not just as passive victims of climate change but as participants in multispecies systems of adaptation and resistance.

B-MOVE aligns with ENLIGHT’s goal to address global challenges through transdisciplinary and transnational knowledge practices. This enlarged perspective enables students, researchers and the public to respond to climate change and cultural transformation in a new and integrated way while addressing three major questions: 1) how can we expand the concept of migration to include more-than-human and posthuman perspectives?; 2) how can creative practices help us navigate these changes?; and 3) how does a multispecies perspective contribute to reframing current ideas of migration as merely a human political and ethical crisis? These are the questions that B-MOVE will encourage students and scholars to address through transdisciplinary and transnational learning and researching. B-MOVE is a platform that offers “an open integrated space for our learners, teachers and researchers to study, learn and work together” (ENLIGHT 2025 call), and it demonstrates the value of Arts and Humanities in addressing ecological and societal transformation, while also helping STEM practitioners explore the cultural and ethical dimensions of their work. Despite their different methods and practical interests, artists and scientists often deal with similar themes, such as environmental problems like climate change, or broader social issues like discrimination and inequality. This network will constitute a valid training opportunity for the artists and scientists of the future: indeed, bridging the gap between Arts and Science leads to more creative and inventive approaches to research. Therefore, for artists or scientists seeking to deepen their knowledge and effectively apply new methods, collaboration offers one of the most compelling ways forward. Art-Science Collaboration begins when artists and scientists come together to address a project or relevant research question and can produce a variety of outcomes that transform what we understand as art and as knowledge. In doing so, the ETN contributes to ENLIGHT’s mission of building an integrated European University rooted in collaborative research and transdisciplinary learning.

B-MOVE actively contributes to ENLIGHT’s agenda by establishing a form of collaboration that is: 1) Cross-sectoral: engaging both academic and non-academic sectors, including artists, scientific institutions (aquariums, botanical gardens and zoos) and cultural institutions to engage in challenge-based, rather than discipline-based work; 2) Participatory: empowering students and communities to co-create knowledge while exploring the connection between activism, research and art; 3) Replicable: with a network structure that allows other ENLIGHT institutions to adapt and replicate its practices and themes. Furthermore, B-MOVE strengthens the ENLIGHT alliance through its commitment to open science and public engagement. It contributes to accessible knowledge dissemination through exhibitions, podcasts and creative workshops, therefore guaranteeing a free and accessible dissemination of the outputs.

Beyond its initial 24-month period, B-MOVE is designed as a lasting community of practice which can seek further collaborations, write joint funding proposals, and propose teaching innovations across the ENLIGHT consortium. The thematic focus on migration, mobility and environmental change beyond-the-human is particularly topical, and it will offer invaluable resources to students, scholars and the public. Therefore, the ETN aligns with ENLIGHT’s goal of sustaining resilient citizens who are creatively and critically engaged with current global challenges. Training offered by B-MOVE offers ENLIGHT scholars and students a cross-sectorial and transdisciplinary lens for interrogating two of the most pressing challenges of our time – migration and climate change – while exploring new methodologies that are creative, collaborative, human and posthuman.

Dr. Bianca Rita Cataldi, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What makes this project uniquely valuable is its genuine commitment to overcome boundaries between species, disciplines, and modes of knowledge. B-MOVE does not simply add ecological perspectives to cultural analysis, but it creates a space where scientific inquiry, artistic practice and humanities-based storytelling actively inform one another. This integrated approach enables the project to capture forms of mobility that often remain invisible in traditional migration studies, such as the circulation of seeds, microbes, materials and more-than-human voices. By foregrounding creative methods alongside scientific expertise, the project opens a rare and necessary space for imagining futures in which ecological and cultural transformations are understood as deeply interconnected.