Arturo Escobar is a Colombian activist-researcher working on territorial struggles against extractivism, bioregional transitions, and ontological design. He was professor of anthropology and political ecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, until 2018, and is currently affiliated with the Tapestry of Transitioners for the Cauca River and the PhD Program in Environmental Sciences (Universidad del Valle), both in Cali. Over the past thirty years, he has worked closely with Afro-descendant, environmental and feminist organizations in Colombia. His best-known book is Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World (1995/2011). His most recent books are Designs for the Pluriverse (2018); Pluriversal Politics (2020); and Relationality: An Emergent Politics of Life Beyond the Human, with M. Osterweil and K. Sharma (2024). His research and practice have had a significant collective dimension. Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2021.