The 7th International Degrowth / 16th International Society for Ecological Economics Joint Conference
Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of ecological and political crisis
Manchester, 1 – 5 September 2020
Important Update
As you will be aware we are facing an unprecedented situation with the global coronavirus epidemic. We have therefore decided, in consultation with our partners,
- We will not be opening registration at this time.
- We are reviewing the options for the conference, namely, (a) postponement, (b) a smaller interim virtual event in September, and (c) cancellation.
Given the current uncertainty, it is difficult to make this decision but if the conference is not going ahead in its original form we will communicate this to you within the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, submissions of abstracts may be made until the end of March.
We are pleased to announce our open call for papers, special sessions (round tables, symposia), participative sessions, activist and artistic sessions.
The conference will combine scholarly discussions and presentations with contributions from artists, activists, community groups and politicians. We are greatly looking forward to a rich dialogue.
Please upload your proposal on the dedicated platform.
If you submitted to the Budapest or Malmö conferences you will already have an account and this should work again: if not, please let us know at this address.
Your submission will fall under one of 14 themes. If you aren’t sure of which, just choose the one that seems closest to what you are offering. A description of themes appears at this link.
- Activist Law
- Arts Materials, Energy
- Alternative economies
- Alternative livelihoods, well-being and ways of living
- Communication, Education, and Pedagogy
- Feminism
- Green New Deal
- Law, Governance, Policy, and Politics
- Materials, Energy, Waste, and Climate
- Organization and Business
- Rural / Agriculture / Food
- Theoretical perspectives
- Transitions / Designs for the future
- Urban and spatial planning
There are also some preset keywords: please choose those that are most appropriate.
UPDATE: The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, 31 March, 23.00 GMT and we look forward to your proposals.
Additional information:
A guide to uploading your submission is available HERE.
Formats of academic submissions
- Individual papers will be grouped into sessions by the conference organizers.
- Participatory sessions encourage reflection on a particular topic using an open format (e.g. discussion workshops, dialogues/reading/planning sessions, walks, etc).
Format of activist sessions
- degrowth in practice events might involve, for example organizing swaps; workshops on making/repair, agricultural initiatives, technology commons, publishing, waste reduction, reuse, sustainable and just energy; degrowth workshops for kids and elderly people.
- meetings of social movements and grassroots initiatives, especially meetings that stimulate dialogues between different groups.
- co-consultancy sessions where groups seek help from other groups re-diagnosis, organization, communication, tactics, and strategy.
- conference live-streaming and other media support.
- proposals for public-facing events, including a demonstration or similar mass event in public space on the closing day.
- we also invite local groups to get involved as partners in coordinating the conference.
logistics on the ground (e.g. via organizing crash-pad accommodation, transport, volunteers, etc).
Artistic Sessions
All forms of artistic expression are welcome (e.g. visual art, theatre, dance, music, poetry, performance art, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc). A connection to degrowth is not a requirement, but we would like some of these sessions to engage with it or have a political aspect more broadly.
Participatory formats are most welcome.
We invite local groups to get involved as partners in organizing artistic events such as:
- exhibitions on degrowth or related themes in Manchester parallel (and prior) to the conference.
- film showings on degrowth or related themes – within the conference or in venues around Greater Manchester.
- theatre events on degrowth or related themes in Manchester before or parallel to the conference.
- artistic program for children during the conference.
