With its research initiation, Riksbankens jubileumsfond wants to provide support for arranging scientific meetings in the form of conferences, seminars and workshops. The aim is to promote initial scientific processes such as establishing new research networks, developing new research questions or developing research applications.
HDK-Valand has been awarded funding to conduct a study together with researchers from the Faroe Islands, Estonia and Denmark. Project manager Joakim Andersson, senior lecturer at HDK-Valand, says that the goal is to investigate what the purpose, status, opportunities and limitations of the school subject of handicrafts are in each country.
– Our time is characterized by technological development, at the same time as school policy shows rapid fluctuations regarding the place and function of digital aids in schools. Then it is important to understand how students perceive the practical-theoretical function that the handicraft subject offers, he says.
Since school subjects are shaped by both the students' experiences and society's values, it is also essential to investigate how the subject of handicrafts is perceived in society at large. This can contribute to a deeper understanding of the subject's role and opportunities to meet the needs of the present and the future.
– The plan is to create an international network of handicraft teachers, researchers and teacher educators, where experiences from different countries contribute to the development of the subject. In the long term, the aim is to inspire new teaching strategies and strengthen the position of handicrafts in the education systems of the participating countries.
Explore local food events
The second project that has received funding concerns a research network that will study sociocultural sustainability through food events. The network is initiated by Helena Kraff, Senior Lecturer at HDK-Valand, and Erik Lundberg from the School of Economics, Business and Law at the University 91̽»¨, together with researchers from Oxford Brookes University, Hertfordshire University and the University of Insubria. The network is also linked to the Centre for Tourism at the University 91̽»¨.
– The aim of the project is to create an interdisciplinary European network for researchers studying social and cultural sustainability as components and outcomes of local food events, says Helena Kraff.
A first goal is to make a joint application for large-scale funding to enable research on food events in each country. The network plans to explore the role of local food events in the revival of cultural heritage, place-connectedness and socio-cultural sustainability in collaboration with stakeholders outside academia
– Within the framework of the project, we want to explore the role that food events play in promoting socio-cultural sustainability. We also want to investigate how learning about cultural heritage in turn promotes the well-being of event participants, says Helena Kraff.
