Prepare to be inspired by our lineup of distinguished keynote speakers, who are experts and thought leaders in their respective fields. These influential individuals will deliver captivating talks, offering valuable insights, innovative ideas, and profound perspectives on the themes and topics central to our conference. From engaging personal anecdotes to groundbreaking research, each keynote address promises to ignite discussion, spark inspiration, and leave a lasting impact on our audience.
Title: Mankind between creation and salvation – An odyssey of hope
In dialogue with Ingrid Ank
In the current debate about climate change and environmental policies we often operate within the agenda of recreating what has been lost in nature.
If we look upon the “green agenda” isolated, that makes sense, but the question is if we are building an illusion of an utopia that never has been, and putting so much weight on one another’s shoulders, that we end up with an inability to act. In the quest of making responsible consumers out of us all we might end up creating some kind of paralysis in society.
Theologically speaking we might have lost the remembrance of The Fall of Man. Between creation and salvation lies The Fall of Man. That might be the spot for us to gather hope for mankind. This since The Fall is a collective event for which salvation is given individually.
About Hanne Dahl and Ingrid Ank:
Hanne Dahl has been in ordained ministry for 25 years. She holds a master’s degree in theology and a PhD degree in social science from Aalborg University. Her field of research is the connection between confession and the making of the welfare state in an European comparative perspective. She has a past as both MEP and civil servant in The European Parliament working with various topics of environmental and climate politics.
Today she works as a minister of the Cathedral of Aalborg with special obligations towards high school students. Before that, she was a university chaplain and attended previous conferences in CEUC.
Ingrid Ank is head of the ‘Grundtvig Academy’ in Denmark, Copenhagen (www.grundtvigskforum.dk). She has a degree in Theology and is author of several articles and books on the Danish pastor, poet, politician and educational thinker N.F.S. Grundtvig (1783-1872) and on the current discussions of education and of empowerment of the individual in the aim for an open, liberal, and democratic society.
She is currently engaged in an international initiative connecting different parts of the world (India, Japan, South Korea, Polen, Germany and more) in a study of the thoughts and legacy of N.F.S. Grundtvig and his legacy and its relevance in theological, educational, and/or political contexts outside Denmark.
Titel: How to have dominion over fish?
The Bible is often said to have contributed to the problematic relation between humanity and our surrounding biosphere. This is particularly the case for the first part of the Bible, including the creation account in which God endows his humans with dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and all animals of the earth.
But what sort of ‘dominon’ is envisioned in the text? What is the general view of created nature in the Hebrew Bible, and of man’s place within it? And how does the Bible understand dominion? Is there something to be said for the wording chosen in a recent American Bible translation, telling the newly created humans to “be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air” etc.? Does the biblical view of nature and the place of humans in it actually give grounds for hope, if not outright optimism?
About Søren Holst:
Søren Holst, PhD, is an esteemed theologian and associate professor deeply engaged in biblical studies. He serves as a course leader at the Danish National Centre for Continuing Education and Knowledge, imparting his knowledge to eager learners. As a prolific speaker, he shares his insights on biblical interpretation and theological themes with audiences far and wide. Notably, he has also contributed significantly to biblical scholarship by translating the Book of Genesis into contemporary Danish for the Bible Society. In his keynote presentations, Søren Holst brings a unique blend of academic rigor and spiritual wisdom, making him a valuable contributor to our conference discussions.
Title: The Indoor People’s Nature.
We spend most of our lives indoors. In ethnographic fieldwork, Cecilie has studied beach people, birders, and young environmentalists and climate activists. In her presentation, Cecilie will draw examples from her fieldwork and introduce new anthropological perspectives on how the ecological crises demand novel ways of comprehending nature.
About Cecilie Rubow:
I am an anthropologist by training, currently serving as an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen. During my initial fieldwork training as a student, I embarked on a study of funerals in the Danish Church. Back then, this was a somewhat unconventional choice, but I found myself working in this field for over ten years, exploring questions such as “what is belief in practice” and “how do you make a vicar?” Fifteen years ago, I shifted my primary research focus to the local responses to climate change in Oceania. Since then, I have been engaged in research addressing questions like “what do Scandinavians understand by nature,” “how do they express love for nature,” and “is this love connected to environmentalism?” Currently, I am conducting a study on ecological ethics among young regenerative farmers.
Cecilie Rubow is the author of the book “Indendørsmenneskets natur / The Indoor People’s Nature” (only available in Danish), published by Aarhus Universitetsforlag in 2022. Among her extensive list of publications, the most recent in English are as follows:
- 2022. “The indoor People’s Enchanted Ecologies”. Environmental Humanities.
- 2021. “Climate Change Never Tavels Alone.” I Understanding Climate Change Through Religions Lifeworlds, edited by D Haberman.
- 2021. “Helene dies again.” Antrostorier.
- 2020. Anthropology Inside out, co-edited with AO Andersen, AL Dalsgård, ML Kusk, M Nielsen og M Rytter.
- 2018. Woosh—Cyclones as Culturalnatural Whirls. I: Pacific Climate Cultures, edited by T Crook & P Rudiak-Gould.
- 2016. Eco-theological Responses to Climate Change in Oceania. Worldviews. With Cliff Bird.
- 2015. Respect and passion in a lagoon in the South Pacific. In Waterworlds. Anthropology in Fluid Environments, edited by K Hastrup and F Hastrup.
- 2014. Living with Environmental Change. Waterworlds, co-edited with with K Hastrup
- 2012. Enacting cyclones: the mixed response to climate change in the Cook Islands, the South Pacific. I: The Social Life of Climate Change