Culture as an engine for sustainability
If everything goes the way becomes Great cricket the eighth biosphere reserve in Sweden and at the same time one of the world's approximately 740 areas to weave art and culture into this work. Currently, the application has been sent to UNESCO and it is hoped that Storkriket will be designated as a biosphere reserve in 2025.
During Sustainability Week in Lund, Storheld an event with culture in the center — “Tinder for cultural cooperation in Stor- How culture and place development can be used to create a sustainable society”.
- We hope that we in the StorBiosphere Reserve will be able to be a global pioneer for how to work with innovation and new ideas to create a sustainable society, says Anna-Karin Poussart, Storkriket's operations manager and coordinator. One strategy for us is that culture should be a support and driving force for the development of Storkriket, and we hope to produce concrete examples of how culture can be a driving force in the sustainable transition.
Kerstin Jakobsson from ARNA in the area told about how in its 14 years the association has run nearly 40 projects and workshops to create sustainability through culture linked to a geographical location.
- Innovation is about the ability to combine knowledge and creativity to arrive at new ways of thinking, methods and products. Cultural workers have extensive experience in creative work, in working across sectors and in creating encounters between people. It is in meetings between people that development takes place, says Kerstin Jakobsson.
An example of this is the project Ung SciShop, which Jasmine Cederqvist told more about. One goal is to awaken children and young people's curiosity about connections in nature and to make young people feel committed to nature and to a sustainable future.
- The key to engagement is to have bodily experiences, says Jasmin Cederqvist. It is only when we experience the world that we can gain a sense of context and meaning. Art can give us the opportunity to approach this.
The name Storis chosen to remind of the interaction between man and nature. In 1954, a pair of storks nested at Klingavälsån. However, new farming methods and people's changing way of life subsequently affected the storks so that the next time a pair of wild storks nested in Skåne was only sixty years later, thanks to the Stork Project which started in the late 1980s. The name therefore refers not only to the existence of storks, but also to the relationship between man and nature and how we as humans can negatively affect nature but also work to improve it.
The area in Lund Municipality, Sjöbos and parts of Eslöv Municipality have a number of special conditions, and this is needed in order to become a biosphere reserve. Some of them are a unique and multifaceted geology, high biodiversity, one of the best soils in the world, important food and water production, a green lung for leisure and recreation, high cultural values and cultural landscapes, as well as a unique research and innovation environment through SLU Alnarp, Malmö University and Lund University, in the vicinity of the area.
During the event at Sustainability Week, several interesting examples were given of how art and sustainability can work together. The poet and writer Mats Söderlund spoke about how art and science can complement each other in order to create participation in future images and visions with the power of culture. Fredrik Haller and Jörgen Dahlqvist from the Malmö Theatre Academy explained, among other things, that they see a trend in performing arts and other culture to engage with contemporary issues and the benefit and impact that art can have in promoting sustainable behaviour. Senior Lecturer Sara Brogaard at LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies) stressed the importance of seeing the next generation's perspective on sustainability issues already now. In his speech “Poetnorm in the urban construction processes”, Mårthen Mirza, the cultural manager of Lund Municipality, considered what it would be like if we included proximity to poets or cultural experiences in the urban plans, but also took into account, for example, which places in the city's natural environments are important for children's play.
It was in 2020 that the candidature work for the formation of the StorBiosphere Reserve started. The aim is to create global model areas for sustainable development. A decision from UNESCO is expected in 2025.
The event is organised by the Biosphere Candidate Area Great cricket through the project Our Place in the Biosphere (funded with support from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Leader Offices South-East & Lundaland), and in cooperation with the organisation ARNA (Arte e naturaleza) and LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies).
Link to video with a summary of Ung SciHop's presentation during the seminar
The big picture: The flow of the Harleus bag on jeans is a way to get children and young people to work with art in nature. Photo: Jasmine Cederqvist