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Culture(s) in Sustainable Futures

This event is running from 06 May 2015 until 08 May 2015

Dr Beatriz Garcia, ICC Head of Research, will be speaking at the Culture(s) in Sustainable Futures conference, where she will be presenting a paper on the cultural value of event-led city regeneration in the context of the European Capital of Culture programme. The conference, which is being organised by the COST Action Investigating Cultural Sustainability and hosted by the University of Jyväskylä (Finland), will offer an opportunity for scholars, policymakers, artists, planners and others to discuss the different roles and meanings of culture in sustainability. Representatives from different sectors and across disciplines will explore how culture(s) can support sustainable development and vice versa, with some of the questions to be considered including:

  • Is culture the fourth pillar of sustainability, alongside the ecological, economic and social aspects?
  • How does culture act as a catalyst for ecological sustainability, human well-being and economic viability?
  • What would our futures look like if sustainability was embedded in the multiple dimensions of culture, including different worldviews and values, ways of life, and other forms of cultural expression?

The conference will explore theories and conceptual approaches; policies and governance; and practices and methodologies that explicitly analyse role(s) of culture(s) in sustainable development. Multiple narratives of culture(s) in sustainable futures are emerging. Some of them have originated in the social and humanistic sciences, philosophy, and environmental sciences, while others have emerged from planning practices, policymaking and the arts. The meaning of culture ranges from worldviews to livelihoods and everyday life practices, from natural and cultural heritage to planning and bottom-up initiatives in different spatial contexts. Various ideas about sustainability will be threaded through these explorations of culture and the participants will reflect on contemporary sustainability challenges such as environmental change, economic crises, poverty and human rights.

Relevant reading

Garcia, B. (2015) The Cultural Value of Event-led City Regeneration. What Makes a European Capital of Culture Sustainable (Abstract)

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