Trends and Future of Sustainable Development
The 13th International Conference organised by
Finland Futures Research Centre and Finland Futures Academy
Trends and Future of Sustainable Development
9 -10 June 2011
Tampere, Finland
The 13th International Conference organized by Finland Futures Research Centre and Finland Futures Academy at University of Turku will deal with the different dimensions of a sustainable future.
Sustainable development is an actual theme on local, regional and global scales and requires multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral cooperation. Environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development can only be achieved by encouraging knowledge sharing and cooperation between various sectors and decision makers. The decision made today shapes our future.
The methods of futures studies include tools for describing possible, probable and desirable variations of the present and drafting possible images of the future. By looking at the variety of different possibilities, we can come closer to shaping the future – rather than predicting it. Future studies offer valuable tools to understand and shape the development of our societies. This conference aims to bring together the best experts from the fields of Futures Studies and Sustainable Development and let the scientific community to interact with policymakers and representatives of companies. By developing images of alternative futures, the goal of the conference is to give new viewpoints and novel ideas to decision-makers to assist them towards more feasible decisions and a sustainable development.
TOPICS OF INTEREST
Theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions are solicited in (but not limited to) the following topical areas:
- Measuring sustainable development: Sustainability performance indicators (environmental, social and/or economic) and measurement systems
- Tools for analyzing different aspects of sustainable development
- Analyzing drivers of and barriers to the sustainable development with different time scales and different spatial coverages
- The trade-offs and synergies between different aspects and dimensions of sustainable development (ecologic, economic, social and cultural)
- Integrated policy planning
- Sustainable business and corporate social responsibility
- Sectoral and cross-sectoral approaches to sustainability
- Multi-level governance and legal aspects of sustainable development, e.g. in EU context
- Policy recommendations and suggestions for decision-making in terms of sustainability
- Specific case studies
- Sustainability in the future: applications/case studies of futures studies and foresight
- Sustainable futures in North- South perspectives
KEY NOTE LECTURERS
Confirmed Keynote lecturers so far are:
- Executive Vice President Anne Brunila (Fortum Corporation, Corporate Relations and Sustainability)
- Prof. Richard Aspinall, The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, UK
- Prof. Peter Nijkamp, Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Prof. Alan Warde, University of Manchester, UK.
All in all we will invite 5 Keynote lecturers.
In addition, we will hear the State of Finland’s greetings from the Permanent Secretary, Ms. Hannele Pokka (Ministry of the Environment).
We will have an expert panel chaired by Prof. Markku Wilenius (Finland Futures Research Centre) and consisting among others of Prof. Em. Pentti Malaska (Finland Futures Research Centre), Prof. Mario Giampietro (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain), Prof. Sergio Ulgiati (Parthenope University of Naples, Italy) and Mr. Oras Tynkkynen (Member of the Finnish Parliament). More names to be confirmed!
CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
Consistent with standard practice, each submitted abstract will receive a minimum of three reviews. Please, submit the abstract no later than 15 January 2011 via e-mail to address:
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. The subject of the email should be “Conference 2011 abstract”.
All accepted conference papers will be published in the conference proceedings. A selection of these papers will be published as a special issue of the International Journal Progress in Industrial Ecology (PIE) following the journal’s usual review procedure. Some of the papers may also be published in Finland Futures Research Centre’s publication series. The official conference language for all papers and presentations is English.
FURTHER INFORMATION
More up-to-date information will appear at the conference website.
For further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
We look forward to seeing you in Tampere in June 2011!
