Dr Wei Yang delivers opening keynote lecture at AESOP Annual Congress
25 Jul 2022
Dr Wei Yang delivered opening keynote lecture at the 2022 AESOP (the Association of European Schools of Planning) Annual Congress in Tartu today.
The AESOP 2022 Congress takes place on 25 - 29 July 2022 in Tartu, Estonia. The theme of the congress is "Space for Species: Redefining Spatial Justice", which aims to unite the aspects of legislation and justice, technological solutions and developments, smart cities, and cultural spaces - “It is high time to consider space for all species, especially as many are going extinct at an alarming rate”.
Wei was invited to give the opening keynote lecture at the conference's opening ceremony. In her lecture - Living in Harmony with Nature: Creating Harmonious Communities for People and for Nature, Wei introduced the 21st Century Garden City approach and presented the work of Digital Task Force for Planning. She argued that we need a modernised planning profession and a new way of education to facilitate mindset change - to promote jointed up thinking and to lead multidisciplinary collaborations to tackle the grand challenges of our times, and at the same time, to create harmonious communities for people and for nature.
The Association of European Schools of Planning was established in 1987 as an international association with scientific, artistic and educational purposes. With over 150 members, AESOP is the only representation of planning schools of Europe. Given this unique position, AESOP strengthens its profile as a professional body. AESOP takes a leading role and lends its expertise to ongoing debates and initiatives regarding planning education and planning qualifications of future professionals. AESOP promotes its agenda with professional bodies, politicians and all other key stakeholders in spatial and urban development and management across Europe. AESOP's Annual congresses attracting up to a thousand participants have been taking place since 1987.
This year's host city, Tartu is home to Estonia’s oldest university, the University of Tartu, which was founded in 1632. Tartu has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2025.
