Transforming societies – towards an environmentally sustainable future

Our modern lifestyle has proven to be fundamentally on an unsustainable basis. The warming climate is causing unpredictable risks and uncertainties to the future. Our economy is fuelled by oil and exploitation of human and natural resources. The growing urban population needs new ways to sustain itself.

The problems we are facing are getting so complex and intertwined that the traditional policy measures are proving to be inadequate. We need new models and ways of thinking in order to change our course towards an environmentally sustainable future.

In order to respond to this challenge,  the symposium EuroEnviro 2014 was held with the theme Transforming societies. We approached the theme through four different subtopics related to food production, economics, urbanization and new forms of activism. Speakers included Dr. Riina Antikainen from the Finnish Environmental Institute and Dr. Anne Jalkala from Lappeenranta University of Technology.

The goal of the symposium was to facilitate discussion between different disciplines and nationalities about ways to change our societal patterns. We gave the participants new ideas and capacities on how to be agents of change.