Media in Motion: Creatively transforming cities, play, and communities

Not your average symposium. Join the CTM for a transformative launch event complete with three keynote speakers, an interactive exhibition, a drum performance and more.

A new XR scavenger hunt-style game will be launched at the event, with an exciting prize for the winner.

LOCATION: 160 Snell Library, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115

SCHEDULE:

8:30-9:00: ARRIVAL / BREAKFAST

9:00-9:30: WELCOME

Adriana de Souza e Silva (CTM Director)

Provost Madigan

Dean Hudson

9:30-10:00: KEYNOTE 1

Intelligence for Adaptation:

How AI Can Empower Communities Coping with Climate Change

, Senior Research Associate, Urban Tech Hub, Cornell Tech

The impacts of global heating in cities are growing. Adapting to climate change is a high and growing priority for city governments and urban communities. Yet our understanding of the goals of adaptation is changing. Reducing risk and building resilience is no longer enough. Ethical approaches to climate adaptation aim to transform the unfair systems that produce climate vulnerability in the first place. Key to that effort is expanding the role of marginalized stakeholders in urban climate adaptation. This talk will explore and examine the role that artificial intelligence innovations could play in empowering urban communities coping with climate change. From resilience planning chatbots to synthetic visualizations of flooded streets, we will map the possibilities and risks presented by these emerging technologies for the urgent and loaded work of responsible participatory climate adaptation.

10:00-11:15: PANEL 1

Networked Mobilities & Urban AI

• Germaine Halegoua (University of Michigan)
• Ryan Wang (Northeastern University)
• Zorana Matic (Northeastern University)
• Chris LeDantec (Northeastern University)

Moderator: Mimi Sheller (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

11:15-11:45: COFFEE BREAK

11:45-12:30: KEYNOTE 2

Social Impact Through Play: The Transformative Power of Games and Play Move US Toward a Better Future

, Knight Chair in Interactive Media and Graduate Program Director of the MFA in Interactive Media, School of Communication, University of Miami.

Drawing from his experience addressing complex problems in journalism, misinformation, education, and more, the lecture outlines the theories that underpin applying play to improve society and technological solutions. The idea is not merely the application of games to increase engagement or retention, but instead the integration of playful characteristics to improve problem solving and the competency of creative systems like generative AI. The lecture explains the human propensity for play as an essential element in the future of human-computer interaction, especially when focused on social impact.

12:30-1:30: LUNCH

1:30-2:45: PANEL 2

Engaged Play and Learning

• Eric Gordon (BU)
• Celia Pearce (Northeastern University)
• Amy Lu (Northeastern University)
• Eileen McGivney (Northeastern University)

Moderator: Ragan Glover (University of Michigan)

2:45-3:15: COFFEE BREAK

3:15-4:00: KEYNOTE 3

Contact Images: A Poetic Action

Francisco ValdeanPhotographer, Artist and Researcher. State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

Contact Images is an immersive experience based on the project Itinerant Museum of Images from Maré (MIIM). MIIM is a mobile museum organized into cardboard boxes measuring 37 cm x 26 cm x 15 cm, containing a collection of photographs, stories, and memories from Maré, the largest complex of favelas in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). In this poetic performance, I will guide the audience through a journey that reveals stories from the favelas and propose new ways of envisioning and understanding Maré. I focus on the community’s creative potential, a vision in sharp contrast with the stigmatized perspective that associates favelas with violence. MIIM’s images affirm Maré’s community rights to live, celebrate, enjoy life, and engage in various cultural activities.

4:00-5:15: PANEL 3

(Mis)information, AI & Data Storytelling

• David Nemer (University of Virginia)
• Derek Curry (Northeastern University)
• John Wihbey (Northeastern University)
• Sina Fazelpour (Northeastern University)

Moderator: Meg Heckman (Northeastern University)

5:15-5:45: PERFORMANCE

Data Drums:A Rhythmic Call to Climate Action

Rahul Bhargava, Marcus Santos, Lily Gabaree

Data Drums is a live data sonification performance that brings global CO₂ emissions to life through the dynamic beats of a Brazilian-style drum ensemble. Based on carbon emissions from India, Brazil, and the USA, this four-part piece translates the data into rhythmic patterns, with each drum and its beats representing different parts of the data. The movements build from individual rhythms into complex layers, highlighting contrasts and connections between countries and sectors. Culminating in an interactive finale, the audience is invited to join in with their bodies, echoing collective responsibility and potential for climate action. This powerful, data-driven performance offers a unique fusion of music, science, and community engagement, creating an unforgettable experience that resonates with both urgency and hope.

5:45-6:00: CLOSING REMARKS

6:00-8:00: COCKTAIL PARTY

Host or Publisher Center for Communication, Media Innovation & Social Change at Northeastern