*Submission is closed*

Contemporary societies face unprecedented ecological, social and economic crises that call for an immediate and radical transformation of the dominant, growth-dependent mode of production and living. Degrowth, as a social movement and a burgeoning academic field of research, has focused on conceptual discussions, concrete utopias and case studies for a social-ecological transformation. What is missing, however, is an in-depth discussion on the strategies to achieve such a transformation.

The conference will have a participatory design, including a thorough documentation process to generate tangible outcomes for the degrowth movement and research community. 

The conference consists of two main parts, firstly understanding past and future transformations and the role of strategies and secondly, strategies in practice.

The conference: structure & topics

Part 1: Transformations and the Role of Strategy

Part 1 of the conference seeks to explore transformation processes, theories of change and approaches to strategies (for degrowth). Contributions are welcome that focus on theories or concepts of (social-ecological) transformation, historical analyses of social change, or the role of strategy in transformation processes. The aim is to examine pathways, potentials, obstacles and leverage points for social change, and how strategies are developed to affect these transformations. Questions include, but are not limited to: What are the key insights from recent transformation research? How to account for uncertainty and complexity when formulating and evaluating strategies? What are the strategies of the ‘political opponent’, e.g. multinational corporations? What can be learned from successful or unsuccessful actors or ‘change agents’, e.g. social movements?

Part 2: Strategies in Practice

Part 2 of the conference will build on the theoretical and conceptual insights of Part 1 (see above). Part 2 brings together scholars, practitioners, artists, and activists of various thematic  fields to collaboratively discuss and work on strategies towards degrowth in a more concrete manner. Contributions that present concrete strategies in thematic  fields (e.g. mobility, food, energy, etc.) are desired to showcase the diversity of existing strategies for social ecological transformation. The aim is to also critically react on these strategies, to better understand obstacles and leverage points in different contexts, and, where possible, to further advance or develop existing strategies.

Forms of Contributions

We warmly invite scholars, practitioners, activists and artists to send proposals for one or more of the three different forms of contributions: 

1. Standard Session, 2. Workshop Session, and 3. Consecutive Sessions. Within these forms, different formats are welcome, and we would like to encourage you to develop the format which  ts your purpose best. Each session lasts 90 minutes.

Find all the important information on the Call for Contributions here:
PDF Call for Contributions – to download

Application Procedure

We look forward to receiving your submission and would be happy if you spread this call widely. 

If you have any questions about this process then please write us directly at info@degrowthvienna.org.

 

Please make your submissions before December 31st, 2019. Keep in mind, this conference has a thematic focus on strategies for degrowth, which requires that only submissions closely related to this theme can be accepted.