News: Nov 27, 2020
This year's edition of Chalmers University of Technology´s and the University of Gothenburg's sustainability week Act Sustainable 2020 has streamed its last lecture and Zoomed its last workshop. As for everything and everyone, the pandemic has forced Act Sustainable to change and adapt as well. What usually is a week for students, researchers and staff to meet in many different locations in Gothenburg became a completely digital event, with its pros and cons. With innovation and the courage to move forward together we were able to carry out a successful sustainability week in a completely new format.
This year Act Sustainable has reached over 1000 people. In addition to Sweden, our participants have joined us from Germany, USA and England, and our visitors have watched from Norway, Japan, Iran and Germany. Several sessions were open for anyone to take part in and external visitors joined in more than usual. When physical distance became a priority, the sustainability week could approach new groups and our program partners took the chance to take advantage of the new proximity in the digital forum inviting speakers from around the world.
- I´m so proud and grateful for what we have accomplished together. When planning the conditions have constantly changed, often at short notice, but all program partners have constantly modified and adapted their concepts and content without compromising on quality. This year's program has really shown the width of sustainable development. Many different parts of the universities have participated and really shown this. For me personally it´s been extra fun to see the student-led sessions because it is apparent that the students really know their target groups and highlight topics that engage, says Karin Bylund project manager for Act Sustainable.
During the week student organizations from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg held lunch seminars every day except Wednesday. The students deep dived in drugs and the Global Goals, sustainable urban planning, waste management and plant-based diets together with researchers from the universities and external guests such as Anders Linden, co-founder of Oumph, and Sandra Alm, City of Gothenburg, Sustainable Water and Waste.
Another first time ever for the sustainability week was the Act Sustainable Research Conference, a research conference to gather the research community in Gothenburg and strengthen the role of academia and research in the UN's decade of action to achieve the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
- I am very happy and proud about the program that the steering group managed to put together in collaboration with the scientific committee, and that we decided to transform the conference into a digital format. An important message from the conference, given by key note speaker Katherine Richardson, professor at the University of Copenhagen, was the emphasis on the interactions between the Sustainable Development Goals rather than on the goals themselves and her urge for sustainability science that draws on all scientific disciplines in order to manage the needed transformations, says Caroline Petersson, Project manager for the research network for sustainable development at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg.
The research conference was organized by the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development as part of the Sustainability Week and emphasizes that sustainable development and Act Sustainable is a week for everyone at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg. The participants themselves have highlighted the value of meeting across borders and having the opportunity to meet digitally and broaden their networks.
The evaluation process for Act Sustainable 2020 and the Act Sustainable Research Conference is still ongoing, but project managers Karin Bylund and Caroline Petersson already have Act Sustainable 2021 in mind.
- This was the first time that we organized a research conference as part of the Act Sustainable week, and I strongly believe that we will repeat it in some form or another during the coming years, says Caroline Petersson, Project manager for the research network for sustainable development at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg.
Karin Bylund, Project manager for Act Sustainable, says:
- This year we have learned so much in a very short time, but above all we have seen how much we can achieve when we do it together. The evaluation process will go on for a while, but we already know that much of what we learned and tested for the first time this year should live on in the coming years. There are also some program partners who already hint that they have Act Sustainable 2021 in mind, which is a great receipt that this is a valued forum. I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been on this journey all the way to the finish line and that I hope to see you all again soon!
Act Sustainable is Chalmers University of Technology’s and the University of Gothenburg's annual sustainability week for students, researchers, teachers and other staff. The week is arranged by the Gothenburg Center for Sustainable Development together with program partners. This year's edition was arranged on November 16-20th in a completely digitally setting. If you have questions or comments about Act Sustainable, please contact project manager Karin Bylund: karin.bylund@gu.se.
