Living Glossary
“Simplicity is key”
“Semantics matter”
“… defining terms we use every day is really hard!”
As the responses above from our workshop participants highlight, a Living Glossary begins with a simple but powerful belief: words matter. They shape how we understand the world and how we work together to address its challenges.
In a time of multiple, interconnected crises, collaboration across sectors and disciplines is more important than ever. Yet this very collaboration often encounters an unexpected stumbling block – the language we use. The fundamental terms that we employ to frame and articulate our understanding of an issue can significantly differ depending on our background – dividing rather than uniting, and creating barriers instead of bridges, sometimes without us even realising. It was precisely this challenge that the Coast-R Living Glossary set out to explore.
“[I was surprised by] how quickly communication developed within a group of unknown people”
“An excellent method that could be used to build/learn from other communities”
On 6 November 2024, during the Coast-R Network’s Launch Event at the University of Hull, a dedicated workshop brought together participants from academia, industry, policy, practice, and creative fields. The aim was deceptively simple, as 5 key terms were chosen, and participants were invited to define them together.
The results, as described in our blog post titled Subtle and Simple Surprises: reflections on co-creating a ‘Living Glossary’ from the event were striking. Each term generated lively debate. Yet these conversations did not just reveal differences – they drew people together. By making space to examine the work of words, those taking part encountered new perspectives, and through the practice of communal meaning making, began weaving these into shared understandings.
“By the end of the day, we had turned the quicksilver of language into a set of subtle tools for ensuring that – as another participant put it – we ‘do not assume everyone starts [talking about resilient coastal communities and seas] from the same place.”
This web resource brings together the work which flowed from that first workshop, with the aim of sharing these subtle tools with you – so you can adapt and apply them in your own context.
Our Living Glossary and yours – step by step
An account of how we brought the Coast-R Living Glossary to life – the tools we used and the steps we followed.
Our own Coast-R Living Glossary, featuring multi-vocal definitions of each key term – generated by the different groups in our origical workshop – as well as tailored etymologies and further reading. In addition, you can find a reference list of sources that helped to shape our thinking.
Reflections on key tensions we grappled with – and guided prompts to help you consider these questions in your own work. Includes a case study discussion of an Interdisciplinary Living Glossary produced by our colleagues working on the Transitions in Energy for Coastal Communities Over Time and Space (TRANSECTS) project.
