Collective action and digital storytelling for spatial justice

There is a growing global interest in improving practices for citizen engagement into local government and urban planning, and even more so since digital technology has permeated daily interactions and activities. However, governmental efforts for citizen participation are often still perceived as a controlled exercise, incapable to deal with the potential of collective action and collaborations outside of formal participatory protocols.

In my doctoral research, I explored the possibilities and limitations of citizen participation, and collective action seeking spatial justice in Manizales, Colombia. I placed my interest in the everyday processes of communication, collective organisation, and co-production across online and offline spheres. My approach was qualitative, including interviews and participant observation in person and online, making use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp and other popular digital tools.

My ethnographic approach opened many doors for collaboration with different collectives, which continued after the completion of my PhD. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and motherhood I have not been able to disseminate my findings with the participants in Manizales. That is the first motivation behind this proposal; there is an ethical commitment to report back key research findings that can impact collective action and participation in the city.

I have passed my viva with minor corrections and completed the publication of a chapter in a book that explores the socio-political effects of the hyper-mediatisation in Latin America. Moreover, as a result of my PhD I have presented in recognised academic forums and conferences in the UK, and been invited to seminars and lectures in universities in Sweden, Spain, and Colombia.

Since the beginning of my PhD, I have engaged in parallel academic activities and become a member of three research networks (the Latin American Geographies in the UK - LAG-UK, the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies - CLACS, and the Global Urban Research Unit - GURU at Newcastle University) which will be central for the Fellowship development. Bearing in mind my academic achievements and the potential impact of my research, this ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship will be a timely and significant boost for my career.

Further work is needed to potentiate the societal and academic impact of my research, and the Fellowship will allow me to secure time and resources to do so.

Following the objectives presented in the section above, I have grouped the programme of activities in three work packages- WP:

- WP 1 is to consolidate two outcomes of my doctoral research as publications. The first contributes to conceptual debates on political stances of collective action responding to the 'Right to the City'. The second will be a paper reflecting on my methodology, using participant observation as a fluid exercise between online and offline spaces.

- WP 2 requires two months of fieldwork in Manizales to deliver workshops with participants to discuss and update my findings, and to carry limited focussed research looking at how urban collectives perceive their roles in urban transformation. In collaboration with participants, we will produce a digital storytelling series for social media as both, a research method and channel for disseminating findings in accessible formats. We will also co-produce a report summarising outcomes from the series and workshops.

- WP3 focusses in networking and future development of my career. I will visit a research group in Urban Communication in Medellin, Colombia, to produce a seminar with UK based academics and to deepen my knowledge in communication studies. Also, I will present a paper with preliminary reflections on the storytelling exercise at an international conference, and will produce an application for the ESRC New Investigator Grant.