“creative. critical. changing.—young perspectives on geography”, was the running motto of this year’s Junger Kongress Geographie held in Leipzig on the 17th-20th September. Organized by students, researchers, and volunteers, the JKG is a unique gathering of young people across German-speaking spheres engaged in the broad field of geography. Cartography—notably—featured prominently in the programme.
Kicking off the second day of the programme was a critical counter-mapping workshop organized under the banner of kollektiv orangotango. In a fully-packed room, people from all over the country went about mapping anti-authoritarian struggle and resistance in their cities. Melissa Ernstberger (Cartography M.Sc. alumna of the 12th intake) and Lisa Daszler (kollektiv orangotango berlin) helped guide the workshop.
Later in the day, Melissa presented her own work in a session on critical perspectives in geography education at large. She explored the main findings of her Master thesis, laying the groundwork for what critical cartography education could and should look like—a manifesto of sorts for how, as a student, to “reclaim” your curriculum and spark change from within. Following her argumentation, she presented a template ‘Critical Cartography’ module that could be applied at the university-level. Her work follows a bigger push for making cartography education more critical, which you can follow here: Critical Cartography Education.
Presenting alongside the education session were Swapna Suthaharan (Universität zu Köln) and Maria Terhorst (KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt). They respectively shared about their own works: Swapna Suthaharan “Multilingual teaching as a method for inclusive and globalized geography classrooms” and Maria Terhorst “Integration of non-formal learning methods in education for sustainable development”.
As a space for exchange and connection with motivated peers, the JKG was a highlight that Cartography M.Sc. students should keep an eye out for!
