Amaterra has recently attended the Sixteenth International Conference on Current Issues of Sustainable Development. The conference, titled “Generations for generations – priorities of sustainable development yesterday, today and tomorrow” in Opole, Poland focused on the need for a new perspective regarding sustainability and sustainable development from a generational approach.
Amaterra was drawn to the conference due to its focus on generational responsibility for the protection, and maintenance of the environment. The premise of the conference aligned with Amaterra’s mission, in that the environment was positioned as the basis for the subsistence of humanity, but more importantly as the foundation of natural capital from which all other socio-economic processes originate. Protection of that foundation, and initiatives through sustainable development to ensure its health, maintenance and enhancement are key to our future.
The stated primary goals of the conference were to discuss and analyze:
- – the responsibility of young, medium and old generations in building capabilities for sustainable development,
- – improving common, international dialogue for creating sustainable development patterns,
- – institutional and governmental framework for sustainable development,
- – challenges in developing sustainable consumption and production,
- – challenges for sustainable development in different sectors, e.g. transport, energy, waste management etc.
- – and the role of technology in building sustainability.
Sixteenth International Sustainability Conference
On the 25th and 26th of April, 2016, Amaterra’s Executive Director presented on the topic of “Sustainable development and community mobilization – through failure to success.” The presentation was designed to discuss the role of sustainable development, and specifically to address the necessity of a different view and approach to current and future development capabilities, primarily those of more contextual and comprehensive approaches to sustainable development. Approaching development not as sustained growth, but as a holistically sustainable closed system, which would allow for higher quality of life, while maintaining the health of the ecosystem and environment. The presentations were well received, and Amaterra’s perspective on sustainability encouraged deeper conversation and linkages and an invitation to collaborate with new partners and academics.
The presentation and resulting short paper were published in the Central and Eastern European Journal of Management and Economics Vol. 4, No. 1, 41-61, March 2016.