About

I am Kersti Ruth Wissenbach, a political sociologist with deep roots in the participatory communication and communication rights movement. I have been working on the intersection of digital transformation, sustainability, and justice for almost twenty years. I have extensively worked with activist groups, NGOs, and public institutions leading strategic planning, policy advice, and implementation of civic participation processes around the globe.

As a convinced hybrid, I combine working in academia and practice since many years. In my role as researcher, I have extensively explored transnational community building through my research of power dynamics within transnational activist communities, and how they translate into the tech and other infrastructures we build. I am a vocal advocate for trans-disciplinary collaborations in academia and practice, questioning dominant understandings of science in my work on the shaping of Citizen Social Science discourse and methodologies.

Seven years ago, I got engaged in permaculture with special interest in social permaculture. This let me to found Cultiva Lab (website coming soon) where I bring my expertise in working with participatory approaches to shape inclusive and sustainable digital transformation into dialogue with feminist ecology approaches. Cultiva Lab is a socio-ecology driven consultancy and participatory exploration space that is rooted in the permaculture principles of People Care, Planet Care, Fair Share. We work with communities, organisations and public sector institutions to embrace all-life-affirming understandings and approaches in their work.

My global cross disciplinary network provides a strong platform for sustainable transformation. My ability to embrace a multitude of perspectives, my careful attention to multiple contextualities, out of the box thinking and empathy comes from my multi-sector and multi-cultural experience. I originate from Germany, have lived in urban centres of various countries, have worked across all continents, and am now living off-grid in the Spanish countryside.