The aim of the COST Action IS1007 Symposium is to give an overview of the policy context where culture meets sustainable development, and of the strategies and processes which guide culturally sustainable development at local, regional, national and transnational levels. Moreover, during the Symposium the participants will identify and establish “thematic clusters” on various topics of cultural sustainability, which will serve as forums for future collaborative work. The goal of the COST Action "Investigating Cultural Sustainability" is to increase understanding of and determine the role of culture in sustainable development based on multidisciplinary principles and approaches.

Culture can be regarded as a fundamental issue, even a precondition to be met on the path towards Sustainable Development. However, the theoretical and conceptual understanding of culture within the general frames of sustainable development remains vague and consequently, the role of culture is poorly operationalized in environmental and social policies. The goal of the COST Action "Investigating Cultural Sustainability" is to increase understanding of and determine the role of culture in sustainable development based on multidisciplinary principles and approaches. The Action is co-ordinated by the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and supported by COST, which is an intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in Science and Technology. 

The aim of the COST Action IS1007 Symposium is to give an overview of the policy context where culture meets sustainable development, and of the strategies and processes which guide culturally sustainable development at local, regional, national and transnational levels. Moreover, during the Symposium the participants will identify and establish “thematic clusters” on various topics of cultural sustainability, which will serve as forums for future collaborative work.

Organized by the Centre for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra.

Note: Registration fee is 150 euros for COST Action participants. This includes all sessions, catering during the event, a cultural programme, and a Conference Dinner at Troubadour Restaurant in Coimbra (click “meal” on registration form to ensure we have correct numbers for the reservation).

PROGRAMME

Monday, 14 May

CES, Sala 1

9:00-9:30 Registration

9:30-10:00 Opening of the Symposium

• Dr. Katriina Soini, Chair of the Action
• Dr. Nancy Duxbury, Local Organizer
  

10:00-10:40 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION 1

Prof. Yrjö Haila, Professor of Environmental Policy, School of Management, University of Tampere, Finland

Sustainability and politicization of the future: identifying and coping with critical uncertainties

Chair: Lummina Horlings, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Consciousness about new kinds of problems in the relationships between humanity and nature broke through in the course of the 20th century. Coping with the new situation requires that new norms be formulated as to how to maintain and cherish the conditions of human sustenance on the Earth. This is a challenge that is deeply entrenched in cultural consciousness and ways of life. Norms are prescriptions for human action, built upon collective, social experience from the past. However, as regards the conditions of viability of human societies, past experience cannot be directly extrapolated toward the future, as human actions bring about unanticipated changes in those conditions.

Politics of sustainability aims at improving the dynamic adaptability of human societies to unexpected changes. Specific goals and rules derived from the principle have to be continuously evaluated and re-evaluated, using many types of specialized and practical knowledge from most variable sources. This is what politicization of the future means in practice.

My major research interest in recent years has been on how to identify and cope with different aspects of uncertainty concerning the protection of biodiversity – a specific issue at the core of sustainability. The notion of Post-normal Science offers resources for this endeavour. The presentation gives an overview of the conclusions thus far.

10:40-11:15 ‘In conversation’ - Interaction with participants, comments, questions

11:15-11:45 Coffee break (on CES rooftop terrace)

11:45-12:25 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION 2

Dr. Catherine Driscoll, Gender and Cultural Studies, The University of Sydney, Australia

Cultural Sustainability in Australian Country Towns: Amenity, Mobility, and Everyday Life

Chair: Jenny Atmanagara, University of Stuttgart, Germany

Research project – Cultural Sustainability in Australian Country Towns: Amenity, Mobility, and Everyday Life – funded by the Australian Research Council for 2009-2012.

Chief Investigators: Catherine Driscoll (Gender and Cultural Studies, University of Sydney), Kate Bowles (Media and Communications, University of Wollongong), Kate Darian-Smith (History and Australian Studies, University of Melbourne), Chris Gibson (Geography, University of Wollongong), David Nichols (Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Mebourne), Gordon Waitt (Geography, University of Wollongong).

This project examines cultural sustainability in three small Australian country towns. Previous understandings of sustainability have neglected the realm of culture while emphasizing the economic, social and environmental. Working across the themes of belonging, mobility and change, and heritage and innovation, this project will produce a complex understanding of the culture of Australian country towns and cultural sustainability in those towns. Drawing upon cross-disciplinary methodology, outcomes will include multiple interdisciplinary research publications and digital cultural mapping.

12:25-13:00 ‘In conversation’ - Interaction with participants, comments, questions

13:00-14:00 Lunch (CES rooftop)

14:00-15:00 Clustering session 1 (60 minutes)

Leader: Lluis Bonet

15:00-16:15 Parallel WG meetings (Salas 1, 2, 6) (1 1/4 hours)

16:15-16:45 Coffee break (on CES rooftop terrace)

17:00-18:00 Historic Guided Tour of the University of Coimbra

18:30-19:45 Special session on Fado of Coimbra in the old Capela of the Department of Architecture, University of Coimbra

Speaker: TBC

20:00 – Dinner at Troubadour Restaurant with Fado performance (RESERVED)

Tuesday, 15 May

CES, Sala 1

9:00-9:40 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION 3

M. Sharon Jeannotte and Dr. Caroline Andrew, Centre on Governance, University of Ottawa, Canada

Integrating Culture in Sustainable Communities: Canadian Policy and Planning Approaches

Chair: Dr. Nancy Duxbury, Centre for Social Studies, Portugal

Research project – Culture in Sustainable Communities: Improving the Integration of Culture in Community Sustainability Policy and Planning in Canada and Europe – funded by the Government of Canada.

Researchers: Nancy Duxbury (PI) and João Mascarenhas Mateus (Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal) and M. Sharon Jeannotte and Caroline Andrew (Centre on Governance, University of Ottawa, Canada)

This research builds on a critical examination of Canada’s “four-pillar” model of community sustainability, which attempts to integrate cultural considerations into overall local planning for sustainability. While this Canadian policy has been groundbreaking, further examinations of overarching policy contexts and comparison with European approaches to integrating culture into community planning are needed.

This project, involving documentary analysis, interviews, and a survey of thinkers and practitioners in Canada and Europe, will identify key conceptual and policy approaches from both Canada and Europe and develop a more comprehensive map of current planning practices and policies that enable culturally sensitive sustainable community development within multilevel governance frameworks. This presentation focuses on the Canadian experiences examined.

9:40-10:15 ‘In conversation’ - Interaction with participants, comments, questions

10:15-10:45 Coffee break (on CES rooftop)

10:45-11:25 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION 4

Dr. Keiko Nowacka, Section for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, in the Division for Cultural Expressions and Heritage, within the Culture Sector, UNESCO

UNESCO Culture for Development Indicator Suite: Reflections on the Role of Culture in Sustainable Development

Chair: Prof. Lluis Bonet, University of Barcelona, Spain

Keiko Nowacka is involved in the development of UNESCO’s Culture for Development Indicator Suite, an operational project of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which helps in particular to implement Articles 13 and 19. The Indicator Suite is an experimental project to measure and assess the contribution of culture to national development process (countries are the unit of analysis) and generate policy debate and action on development priorities and the role culture is playing and should be playing. A set of 20 indicators (a Suite) is the platform on which these discussions, negotiations and action are based. She will discuss with attendees the initial results and insights they are gaining with the field experiences so far and reflect on how they illuminate issues on the roles of culture in sustainable development. Info: www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/cultural-diversity/diversity-of-culturalexpressions/programmes/culture-for-development-indicators

11:25-12:00 ‘In conversation’ - Interaction with participants, comments, questions

12:00-13:15 Creators' perspectives: Coimbra-based artists on the COST Action

Participants: José Valente (musician), Dr. António Olaio (visual artist and musician), and Dr. Claudia Carvalho and Isabel Craveiro (theatre)

Chair: Astrid Skjerven, Akershus University College, Norway

Selected Coimbra-based artists/creators will be briefed on the COST Action and will contribute thoughts on our research topics from an artist’s perspectives. Session includes time for discussion with participants.

13:15-14:30 Lunch (on CES rooftop terrace)

14:30-16:30 Parallel WG meetings (Salas 1, 2, 6) (2 hours)

16:30-17:00 Coffee break (on CES rooftop terrace)

17:00-18:30 Clustering session 2 (Sala 1, with Sala 6 as backup space) (1.5 hour)

Evening (Contemporary) cultural programme – José Valente in concert

José Valente is designing a concert for us around themes relevant to the COST Action, to be
performed in an historic setting.

Wednesday, 16 May

Summaries and next steps

CES, Salas 1, 2, 6

9:00-10:00 Parallel WG meetings (Salas 1, 2, 6) (1 hour)

10:00-11:30 Plenary meeting (Sala 1): Briefings of WG progress, clusters, and discussion

(1.5 hours)

Chair: Dr. Joost Dessein, ILVO (Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research), Belgium

11:30-12:00 Coffee break (with sandwiches) – on CES rooftop terrace

12:00-14:00 Chair: Dr. Katriina Soini, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Management Committee Meeting (Sala 1) (2 hours)

14:00 – Lunch on own

Departure