Varieties of Science Network

Thinking about epistemic sovereignty in the course of glocal collective problem-solving

Introduction and Overview

The world today is confronted with many challenges, including environmental, political, economic and socio-cultural issues. The most prominent of these are climate change, financial inequalities, political and social upheavals, pandemics, and the threat of nuclear proliferation (peace and security). Although, there are attempts to coordinate collective problem-solving globally, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or the Sustainable Development Goals, we are facing a time with huge difficulties in terms of cooperation. There is also a higher level of cooperation lacking across cultures and geographical spaces, hindering the potential benefits of cross-pollinating local knowledge and expertise at both the local and global levels (glocal). Furthermore, discourses on decolonization and the division of the world into the Global South and Global North are important for highlighting political, economic, and epistemic inequalities. Thus, attempts at deeper epistemic cooperation between knowledge actors from different regions seem to be an important step forward.

Against this background, the Varieties of Science Network (VOSN) aims at practicing epistemic cooperation in different formats, such as digital public dialogues, workshops, and conferences, to bridge the epistemic gaps in knowledge production and dissemination between researchers from different cultures. The network is inspired by the idea of “cultures of research” at the KHK c:o/re, an initiative that seeks to understand the diverse forms of knowledge production in our time, as well as the institutional safeguards needed for practicing epistemic freedom and intellectual democracy across geographical, cultural, and institutional landscapes. The idea is to unravel the productive aspects of the global North-South conversations to overcome colonial burdens and emerging threats to global fragility.

To do so, the VOSN brings together glocal voices and looks at different relevant issues to better understand the cultural-institutional differences, as well as the similarities performed by the respective knowledge actors in their glocal contexts. By examining problem-centered cases and issues in different fields and countries, it allows us to understand the variety of sciences and invites us to learn from each other. The network helps humanity question established and emerging ways of knowing, or gnosis, and associated epistemological risks in a changing global order. It also helps us understand which knowledge is seen as important and the attendant predicaments.

Approach

The network’s activities center on shaping glocal public discourse through hybrid events, such as digital public dialogues, workshops, and conferences. These discourses focus on urgent topics such as climate mitigation and adaptation (technology, climate, and peacebuilding), public health (universal healthcare, pandemics) and conflict and peacebuilding (nuclear proliferation and global fragility). The overarching goal is to learn how different groups define problems and solve them, so we can recognize each other as epistemic actors. Recognizing the otherness of others is the foundation for understanding and practicing epistemological cosmopolitanism. The VOSN will also create a co-working space with scholars and practitioners, elevating their voices through these network activities.

Membership

• Multidisciplinary
• Global
• Scholars and practitioners

Leadership

Events and Activities

Digital public dialogues, workshops and conferences

Upcoming Event: Technology, climate and peacebuilding: Nurturing climate and conflict resilient communities in western Kenya through action research anchored on tree planting and carbon offsetting Date TBD

Publications

Ogenga, F. (Ed.). (2024). Special Issue: Emerging Issues in Social Media, AI and Peacebuilding in Africa. Kujenga Amani.

Ogenga, F. (2025). Towards Technological Solutions to Climate Action from Varieties of Science: Insights from the Narrative of floods in Kenya and Germany.

Zelizer, C. Ogenga, F., Schirch, L., Tauchnitz, E., Howard, P.N., Valenzuela S. (eds.) (2025). AI and Peacebuilding: Opportunities and Challenges. Zurich, Switzerland: International Panel on Information Environment. Technical Paper. https://doi.org/10.61452/RNGW7145.

Milani, C., Mustafaraj, E., Ogenga, F.,Yadin, S., Howard, P. N., Valenzuela, S. (Eds.). (2025). Facts, Fakes, and Climate Science: Recommendations for Improving Information Integrity about Climate Issues. Zurich, Switzerland: International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE), SFP2025.2. https://doi.org/10.61452/QHRL3301.

Elbeyi, E., Bruhn Jensen, K., Aronczyk, M.., Asuka, J., Ceylan, G., Cook, J., Erdelyi, G., Ford, H., Milani, C., Mustafaraj, E., Ogenga, F.,Yadin, S., Howard, P. N., Valenzuela, S. (Eds.). (2025). Information Integrity about Climate Science: A Systematic Review. Zurich, Switzerland: International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE). Synthesis Report, SR2025.1. https://doi.org/10.61452/BTZP3426.

Ogenga, F. (2025). Pan-African Digital Peacebuilding: Maskani Home Platform and Ethno-Political Polarization in Kenya. London, New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781041155058. Forthcoming. 

Ogenga, F. (2025). Democracy, Governance and Peacebuilding in Africa: Technology, Cybercitizens and Kenya’s Post 2022 Election Jitters. In A. Oye and K. Matlose (Eds.), African Union Agenda 2063: The Past Present and Future. University of Johannesburg Press. https://doi.org/10.36615/9780906785713

Ogenga, F. (2026). Appraising Kenya’s Potential as Africa’s Climate Trailblazer: Nurturing Conflict Resilient Communities through Technological Adaptation anchored on Indigenous Climate Action. In Oye, A. (ed.). “Strengthening African Agency in the G20 and the Emerging Global Order.” Johannesburg: University of Johannesburg Press. Forthcoming.