‘Whether in the panels, the attendees, or the conversations, it was clear that EDI was not an afterthought but embedded in the fabric of the event. I’ve had some strange (and sometimes alienating) experiences at conferences – whether that’s because I’m a woman, a woman of colour, or a woman of colour who is an early-career researcher – but in these last two days I felt like doors were opening, connections were being made.’ (First-time AA attendee, direct feedback received by email)
ACCESS Assembly 2025
This year’s Assembly was held on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 June 2025 at the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus.
The sun shone and the conversation flowed, as c.100 environmental social scientists from across academia, policy and the third sector came together for two days of thinking, connecting and network building.
One of our thematic sessions was on Place-Sensitive Just Transitions and we heard presentations from:
- Najma Mohamed (keynote) (United Nations Environment Program – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC))
- Greg Marsden (Place Theme Lead, Energy Demand Research Centre & University of Leeds)
- Huei-Ling Lai (National Sun Yat-Sen University Taiwan)
- Sherilyn MacGregor (JUST (Joined-up Sustainability Transformations) Centre, University of Manchester)
- This session and Q&A were chaired by Gesche Huebner (European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter)
The second thematic session was on ‘Effective’ Interdisciplinary. Speakers were:
- Ian Walker (Swansea University)
- Sandra Bogelein (Climate Change Committee)
- Gary Kass (Imperial College London & University of Surrey)
- Helen Roberts CMet (Met Office)
- The panel discussion and Q&A were chaired by Susan Owens OBE (University of Cambridge)
And we enjoyed a Showcase of the ACCESS Flex Fund Round 2 Projects, with presentations from:
- Sarah Parry (University of Edinburgh) and Joe Dunn (WildLand Ltd)
- Davide Pettinato (University of Cambridge) and Mohammed Fezaan Azam (Cambridge Central Mosque)
- Matilda Becker (University of Oxford) and Tom Maitland (Youth Advisory Board)
You’ll find recordings of these three sessions below.
We also enjoyed two interactive sessions (not recorded).
ACCESS Leadership College Fellows and C3DS, University of Exeter Fellows co-led three Narratives of Hope Workshops – Exploring the Role of Storytelling to Reconnect with Nature.
And we had a session on the ACCESS Guiding Principles, with a plenary from Jenny Hatchard, followed by breakout research groups led by members of the ACCESS Guiding Principles Team
We look forward to our final ACCESS Assembly next year and will be sharing more information about that event shortly.
Keynote & Session recordings
Comments about the Assembly
“I was struck by the collaborative nature of the gathering and by the range of sectors, views and projects represented – it bodes well for a more integrated way of working to address climate change.”
“It was a real pleasure to join my second ACCESS assembly – some really energising conversations and connections with academics and policy makers… Looking forward to next year already.”
“I’m very happy and grateful to have attended the ACCESS Advancing Capacity for Climate Environment Social Science Assembly… I just think every conference or gathering should adopt the guiding principles of ACCESS – which led to two days that were genuinely meaningful, fun, and incredibly useful.”
