ID: 1559
Presenting Author: Aloysius Adimaulor
Session: 552 - Accelerating with Integrity: Strengthening Social Impact Assessment in the face of urgency and misinformation
Status: pending
Together we will reimagine participation in environmental assessment using creativity, inclusion, and honest communication to rebuild trust and make every voice part of transparent decision-
Public trust in environmental assessment is increasingly fragile, often undermined by misinformation, uneven communication, and processes that feel distant from the people they are meant to serve. Yet trust remains the cornerstone of effective assessment and long-term sustainability. This presentation explores how creativity, empathy, and transparency can reshape the way practitioners engage communities in environmental decision-making. Drawing on real-world examples, it highlights how participatory mapping, citizen science, and digital storytelling can bridge the gap between technical data and lived experience. These tools help people visualize impacts, share their local knowledge, and feel genuinely included in shaping outcomes. More importantly, they create spaces where dialogue replaces doubt and shared understanding replaces misinformation. Participants will gain insights into innovative communication practices that make participation more inclusive, particularly for communities and groups often left out of technical conversations. Practical strategies include using accessible language, designing engagement materials that invite dialogue, and creating visible feedback loops that show how public input informs final decisions. Ultimately, this session encourages practitioners to see participation not as a procedural step but as a relationship built on trust, empathy, and openness. In an era where information is contested and credibility is constantly tested, reimagining participation as co-creation may be the most powerful way to restore public confidence in EA.
Aloysius Adimaulor, founder of ALMS Global Community Systems, is a community engagement specialist and planner using creative, inclusive methods to build trust and transparency in EA.
Coauthor 1: Uchenna Egbulefu
Coauthor 2: Aloysia Ulor
Coauthor 3: Francisca Chukwu
Coauthor 4: Florence Uche
Coauthor 5: Chinwendu Jonathan