Researchers at the University of Cambridge are marking UK Inter Faith Week (12—19 November 2023) with a series of events exploring how religion influences our attitudes to and use of water.
The theme was chosen in response to ongoing research funded by the Ofwat Innovation Fund and participating UK water companies. The project stakeholders are hoping to apply what is learned to design interventions that encourage people to be more efficient with water.
Learning from the project will be shared with all UK water companies, to improve their services to customers.
For all tastes
There are three different workshops on offer:
The first is interactive and will offer a chance for anyone from a faith community in the Cambridge area to participate. Cambridge Central Mosque are hosting. Seek wisdom together...
The second has a more academic focus, inviting participants to engage with some samples from the research (field notes, transcripts). Participants will join the lead researcher to discuss how to analyse and interpret learning. This will be hosted at the Faculty of Divinity. Explore water wisdom...
The final session will be with project partners and include invited responses from different organisations working at the junction of faith and ecology. The fieldwork has focused on Muslim and Jewish communities, but we hope to hear from Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh perspectives too.
Some surprises, some connections
Lead researcher Dr Anastasia Badder explains:
“As an anthropologist, I’m always keen to learn from others. It’s been a privilege to spend time talking about the meaning of water in people’s lives over the past few months. There have been some surprises, some connections, and lots of learning.
“In planning these interfaith workshops, we’ve tried to think about who we haven’t gotten to speak with yet, and how we can involve as many different hands, voices, and minds as possible. I’m really looking forward to these conversations!”
Keen to learn more?
Information about each of the workshops is available on this website.
16 November: Your attitudes to water?
17 November: Attitudes to water
17 November: Water use in perspective
Participant information sheets are available to download from each event page. We seek consent from all participants, so that we can collect research data at these events.