Rivers all over the world are deteriorating in a fast rate. As a response, movements in the defence of rivers emerge and aim to restore and protect rivers. One of these defence strategies is to politicise fish to generate arguments for the protection of rivers, drawing from a fish-friendly river imaginary. The concept of river imaginaries describes that power is exercised through and by knowledge generated in truth regimes. In this poster presentation, we elaborate on two cases in which fishing people and their allies use a variety of truth strategies, resonating with specific fish-friendly river imaginaries. Both case studies are influenced by harmful mining and industry practices that pollute the river and wetland.The Dutch case study of the Border Meuse river reveals that the main argument to politicise fish is that infrastructural interventions and hydropower is killing and damaging fish. Through knowledge generating on the amount of fish-death and the aquatic state, a knowledge agenda is set and power is exercised to stop harmful river activities. The Colombian case of the Zapatosa wetlands reveals that the main argument to politicise fish is that fish is the main source of food. Through knowledge generating that focusses on re-learning from past artisanal fishing strategies and biocultural adaptation, a knowledge agenda is set and power is exercised to stop harmful mining practices. Although these river movements are using truth regimes to defend rivers, counter facts, counter norms, and counter agendas in the defence of harmful practices remain to exist.
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Pleidooi om bewoners en ondernemers veel actiever te betreffen bij het krimpvraagstuk, en dit niet alleen aan de politici over te laten. Op die manier creëer je volgens de schrijver draagvlak voor een succesvol krimpbeleid.
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Slovakia is in political turmoil since the conservative populist and Putin-versteher Robert Fico won the 2023 elections. Following the authoritarian playbook, the new government has targeted cultural organisations, especially those associated with LGBTQ+-communities, with a series of repressive laws and political appointments. To fight back, a group of cultural workers formed the Open Culture! platform, establishment of a new cultural workers, and declared the Slovak Culture Strike on the 5th of September 2024. They rally around three simple demands: good governance, fair payment, and an end to political censorship. The Culture Strike strike quickly garnered massive support among cultural workers throughout Slovakia, including those working in public institutions. It is still going strong, having developed into a serious movement. In this article, the organizers behind the strike are interviewed.
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