Crystal Tremblay is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. Her current research uses Participatory Video to explore the impacts and implications of shifting water governance structures in Accra, Ghana and Cape Town, South Africa, simultaneously providing a powerful narrative portraying the lived experiences of the individuals affected by limited or (in)access to water. She has a PhD in Geography from the University of Victoria, and a diploma in cinema/communications from Dawson college. Her doctoral work unraveled the complex socio-economic, political and environmental facets of the informal waste sector in Brazil, pointing towards inclusive and integrative waste management strategies using action-oriented methodologies, such as video, photo and mapping. Her research interest are multi-disciplinary and include community development, resource management and participatory governance drawing largely from Social Economy, Political Ecology and Feminist theories. From a methodological perspective, she is particularly interested in the critical theory and practice of Participatory Action Research, and other approaches to research that value and strengthen community knowledge and interrogate traditional structures of power in decision-making.
Crystal is also the research coordinator for the UNESCO Chair in Community-based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, a four-year partnerships working to strengthen Community-University Partnerships and knowledge democracy, particularly in the Global South.
For videos, please visit her Youtube channel.
