Paul Vilchez Receives Joachim Herz Fellowship

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Congratulations to our doctoral researcher Paul Vilchez on receiving the Add-on Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Science and Transfer from the Joachim Herz Stiftung. The fellowship runs from 1 November 2025 to 31 January 2028 and supports early-career researchers pursuing innovative, interdisciplinary projects that foster the sustainable and efficient use of economic and technological resources. In addition to financial backing, fellows benefit from non-material support and become part of a vibrant network of committed young scientists.

In his project, Paul Vilchez investigates how the notion of “resources of the future” calls for rethinking not only technologies, but also the systems of governance and value frameworks that shape their implementation. By analysing contemporary economic systems, he explores how Indigenous and alternative communities challenge dominant principles such as individualism, profit maximisation, and extractivism.

Furthermore, his research seeks to identify global mechanisms capable of strengthening Indigenous autonomy. At the same time, it asks how global economic systems might learn from Indigenous values such as relationality and reciprocity in developing new organisational models for a sustainable future. In doing so, the project positions Indigenous knowledge not as a resource to be extracted, but as a co-creator of sustainable economic futures.