Living a Good Life and Not Just Surviving — Conference in Existential Sustainability
Are you curious about the concept of existential sustainability? In November, there is a chance to listen to representatives of different professional groups who reflect on how existential perspectives are expressed in their field and how it affects their professional identity. The day begins and ends with some researchers giving different perspectives on what existential sustainability can be.
Johanna Gustafsson Lundberg is Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Ethics. What does existential sustainability mean to you?
- For me, existential sustainability means being in a context where I have good relationships and tasks that feel meaningful. This applies both privately and professionally. I also think it's about an experience that I can influence my situation. Today it can be difficult to feel it both in terms of the political world situation and sometimes also in relation to work. For me, existential sustainability also has a critical aspect attached to it in such a way that sometimes the systems and structures in which we operate need to be criticized and changed. This is telling against those who argue that change is primarily brought about by the individual who should change (read adapt). I think existential sustainability for the individual must be borne and supported by existentially sustainable structures.
In recent years, interest and knowledge about the concept of existential sustainability have increased, and at Lund University there are both courses and research on the subject. It can be summed up as the existential dimensions of what it is to be human — and has significance in many different sectors of society. Existential sustainability is seen as a complement to green, social and economic sustainability.
Lovisa Nyman, you are researching Existential Sustainability. What do you think is the most exciting thing about organizing a conference where different professional groups think about how they use existential sustainability?
- In our research group, we are interested in, among other things, how we can pay attention to questions about meaning and good relationships in everyday life. How do you create a society that makes room for it? But it is easy to get caught up in dark perspectives on life, not least in our time. Then we would like to focus on the good examples that exist and learn from them. Therefore, we have invited people into the professional world who have thought about this and so we put it in relation to research. We are very much looking forward to that!
Existential sustainability thus includes about what it means to live a good life, as opposed to just surviving. The existential dimensions of human life are, of course, connected with the other elements of sustainability.
Birgitta Persson, you work on combining existential sustainability with innovation in a European project (IPA). How to identify existential sustainability in your efforts to create innovation portfolios in cities?
One of the most important things is to open up to reflection. A simple wondering question can sometimes be enough to stimulate a conversation and new perspectives. These can be questions about how what we develop affects the next generation, how we express care and appreciation for each other, or about the courage to go against the current. In the next step, reflection needs to be translated into action and preferably translated into working methods, agreements, budgets and policies.
Here you will find the whole the programme and notification
Conference Existential Sustainability
Time: 2024-11-21 at 08:30
Location: Lokal C:121LUX - Faculties of Humanities and Theology, Helgonavägen 3, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
The day is free of charge thanks to generous assistance from the LMK Foundation, and is organized in cooperation with Future by Lund.