Presentation Schedule
Agency in Times of Crisis
This presentation will be live-streamed via Zoom (Online Access)
Monday, 9 November 2026 09:05
Session: Featured Session
Room: Live-Stream Room 2
Presentation Type: Forum Discussion
Humanity faces various crises on many fronts, what has been termed a ‘polycrisis’. First coined by French theorists Edgar Morin and Anne-Brigitte Kern in the 1990s and later popularised in 2016 by Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, a polycrisis describes a situation in which multiple challenges coalesce into a complex web of interconnected crises, creating impacts greater than any single crisis alone. These include, among others, the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), democratic backsliding, declining trust in political institutions, demographic changes and population ageing, and climate change.
Often, we feel helpless in the face of challenges like these, while those with decision-making power discuss and make decisions and solutions for us. Agency, defined as the capacity, power, and freedom to make independent choices, form intentional goals, and take actions that shape one's own life and environment, is increasingly constrained by the social, political, economic, and technological systems in which we live. Although we can not directly control these systems, humans can still exercise some influence in the communities, societies, and contexts they live in.
What agency remains to us as educators, artists, professionals, and individuals? How can we contribute to meaningful change? The Forum session at BCE/BAMC2026 invites participants to reflect on the possibilities of human agency in times of polycrisis.
Speaker Biography
Briar Pelletier
Briar Pelletier is Editorial and Communications Coordinator at IAFOR, where she works with the academic team on a range of academic projects and initiatives, including the Forum’s Scholarship and Grant Opportunities, Conference Proceedings, and Conference Reports and Intelligence Briefings. She is currently developing IAFOR’s online community content for members and moderates its monthly Academic Advice Surgery sessions.
Ms Pelletier is completing her PhD at Nagoya University, Japan, where she was recognised as a Next Generation Research Fellow from 2022 to 2025. Her research focuses on grassroots cultural exchange initiatives and community-led digital archives, with particular attention to projects affiliated with sister-city partnerships. She holds an MA in Cultural Studies from Nagoya University and a BA in Art History from The University of Maine, United States.
About the Presenter(s)
Briar Pelletier is Editorial and Communications Coordinator at IAFOR
See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule
