PHOTO: Mycelium Media Colab in Cape Town, South Africa, during their workshop.
Beyond second-hand shopping, train vacations, and vegan ham on the Christmas table, what can be considered sustainable consumption? Currently, envisioning workshops are being held worldwide that can give insights on this question. This will, among other things, result in a report and a digital exhibition.
The workshops are organized by the international partner organizations of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, which hosts Green Action Week every year. During the workshops, participants get to develop their own vision of what sustainable consumption is and should be in the future. So far, results have been gathered from South Africa, Costa Rica, and India, among others.
“Easy to get stuck in a bubble”
According to Åsa Svenfelt, researcher at Linköping University, it is important to not focus solely on sustainable consumption in Sweden.
– For those of us working on sustainable consumption, it’s easy to get stuck in a bubble where we miss important perspectives, risking that what we propose and work for becomes irrelevant to many,” says Åsa Svenfelt, who leads the project together with Sara Nilsson at the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
May be exhibited at an art gallery
– By inviting more groups, people, and countries, we can create a more diverse picture of what sustainable consumption is and what we need to transition to,” says Åsa Svenfelt.
The results of the workshops will be published in a report next spring. Additionally, artists or illustrators have been tasked with illustrating some of the visions. The art project will be showcased in a digital exhibition and might also be part of an exhibition on sustainable consumption at Virserum’s art gallery from April to October.
CONTACT:
Åsa Svenfelt, Associate Professor, Centre for Municipality Studies, CKS, Linköping University
asa.svenfelt@liu.se
+46 8 790 8818
