Can items we use every day be more sustainable? Can we, as consumers, promote and invest in more socially conscious products to diversify the marketplace? Fairphone is a non-profit company that produces phones that are ecologically and socially conscious. They aim to create a positive social impact at each step of production, which includes mining, design, manufacturing, life cycle and social entrepreneurship. They are expanding the market for products that [...]
Can humans enable organisms to adapt to new conditions in the Anthropocene? What are the longterm implications of this? Can marine life and habitats adapt to the increasing temperatures and acidity of the ocean? Scientists at the research centre on Hawaii’s Coconut Island are hoping to save the coral reefs off the island of Oahu from permanent degradation. Ruth Gates and her team’s mission is to create coral that can [...]
Can mandated multi-functionality, supported by government at multiple scales, address multiple Anthropocene challenges while building social capital? Mandated multi-functionality is a concept being studied and implemented by researchers and partners in British Columbia, Canada developed through the Solutions Agenda Research Project. The general concept is to re-think spaces and land-use in ways that better accommodates multiple functions, and ultimately mandate the implementation of multi-functionality in communities. This can include interior spaces that [...]
How do we challenge people's deeply-held beliefs about how the world works and all the associated behaviours that go along with these? Cascoland is an international network of artists, architects, designers and performers sharing a fascination for interdisciplinary interventions in public space, promoting mobilization, participation and networking through artistic exchange and collaboration. Projects are executed with multi-disciplinary teams of artists and designers. Cascoland activates public space through artistic interventions, construction [...]
Can an online gaming platfom lead to real-world learning and behavioural change? How widespread can its impact be? MEGA Game is a gamified web platform & smartphone app that give you knowledge, skills, and power to create sustainable world by playing for impact. The Moldovan Environmental Governance Academy (MEGA) represents an innovative solution to the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues, such as inefficient natural resource management, environmental pollution with [...]
Can aid that focuses on decreasing reliance on traditional energy sources be a sustainable solution? GIVEWATTS is a non-profit organisation / Social Enterprise bringing clean and safe energy to people in developing countries, starting with East Africa. GIVEWATTS distributes solar lamps and efficient stoves in places that would otherwise rely on daylight, firewood and kerosene. The GIVEWATTS vision is to make renewable energy available to all households across the off-grid [...]
Building a sense of community, stewardship and sharing through cohousing communities: can alternative ways of living and making decisions found within intentional communities scale up? How? Heartwood Cohousing is one of many cohousing communities throughout the world. There are about 150 in the USA alone. Heartwood's goal is to recreate an old-fashioned neighbourhood where neighbours cooperate to live more sustainably. Heartwood has 100 hectares of land, 25 irrigated, with an organic farm that [...]
Can a thriving community be created in a harsh, socially hostile environment, and can it last? What lessons can be learned from Gaviotas, Colombia? Gaviotas is an intentional community in eastern Columbia established by Paulo Lugari in the mid 60’s. The ecosystem consisted of “llanos”, savannas that seasonally flood. The intent of the community was to find ways to make the region more habitable. Through Colombian and UNDP grants in the 70’s [...]
Can tourism be remodelled to encourage learning about sustainable, ethical travel? Tourism is a global industry, and also seen as an important part of economic growth, especially in developing countries. It can be a very positive thing, but it needs to be done in a fair and sustainable way. That is not the case in most places today, and getting the information on how to be a responsible traveller out [...]
Can the knowledge developed by observing a small dryland village adapt to climate change be used in other places? In spite of the challenges they pose, drylands have been successfully settled by humans over time, and constitute a “hot spot” for the study of adaptive resilience in dry climates. Ricote, in SE Spain, provides an example of adaptive resilience in drylands. For over 1000 years, the village of Ricote (c. [...]