I’m pleased to share an upcoming online event I am organizing that may be of interest. The Committee for the Anthropology of Science, Technology and Computing's 2025 Invited Lecture will feature Syed Shoaib Ali (IIT Delhi), with responses from Juris Milestone (Temple University) and our own Huiying Ng (University of Oulu).

Talk title: The Fragility of Promised Futures: A Case for Centering Maintenance in Nature Restoration

This event explores environmental restoration in the Western Himalaya, maintenance and repair studies, and rethinking restoration futures in the Global South (more detailed description below).

Date: December 10, 2025

Time: 16.30-18.00 EET

Location: Online (Zoom link will be shared via Eventbrite)

Registration: https://castacinvitedlecture.eventbrite.com

All are welcome to attend and to share the announcement with others who may be interested.

Warmly,
Rebecca
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Overview:
Dr. Ali’s research examines environmental restoration in the Western Himalaya, bringing ethnographic and STS perspectives to bear on global initiatives such as the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration and the Bonn Challenge. His work highlights the fragility of the optimistic futures these projects promise, and instead makes the case for centering maintenance and repair as vital to ensuring the long-term durability of restoration sites. By drawing on insights from maintenance and repair studies, Dr. Ali shows how concepts like usefulness, breakdown, and technical diplomacy can shed light on the often-overlooked, repetitive work of sustaining ecological projects. In reframing restoration as maintenance, he points to new forms of partnership and nature diplomacy that can reshape restoration futures in the Global South.