7th International Degrowth Conference: Call​ ​for​ ​sub-themes

Update  January, 2020

The call for subthemes generated a great deal of interest.  We have consolidated them into 14 themes: see the conference website.  The open call for contributions will be announced there in later January / early February.

The 7th International Degrowth and 16th International Society for Ecological Economics Joint Conference – Manchester

Building Alternative Livelihoods in Times of Ecological and Political Crisis

Call​ ​for​ ​sub-themes

updated with some missing text, 19/9/19

We are delighted to announce that the first ever joint conference between the International Degrowth Research Network and the International Society for Ecological Economics will take place 1-5 September 2020 in Manchester, UK. This conference will bring together academics from the Degrowth and Ecological Economics communities, voices from the Global North and Global South, civil society actors, activists, artists and policy-makers. It aims to break down silos and stimulate dialogues between and within different perspectives, disciplines and social movements.

Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of ecological and political crisis is the overarching theme of the conference. Economic systems have always co-evolved with social, environmental and technological systems. The worsening ecological and climate crisis means we must urgently abandon practices of production and consumption that drive ecological degradation and that rely on unsustainable extractivism. We must develop alternative livelihoods which are harmonious with planetary limits and safeguard material living conditions.  We must invent and trial new ways of working, providing for everyone’s needs, caring for each other and democratising the economy. We must seek clarity about the systems of provisioning which will be utilised in a society beyond growth where states and markets play more peripheral roles in the allocation of resources. In short, we must ask what are the alternative livelihoods which ensure the future conditions of societal wellbeing.

The construction of alternative livelihoods entails a radical transformation of economy, culture and society. What are the institutional arrangements which safely provide for basic needs, social stability and democratic legitimacy in the transition to environmental sustainability? How can both social and ecological justice for the populations of the Global North and the Global South be ensured? How can political support be mobilised for the necessary transformations? How can the transition to environmental sustainability be made politically viable and democratically legitimate?

We list below some of the topics that the conference could cover. We also look forward to ideas beyond these, which would expand the geographical and thematic scope of degrowth, as well as advance and further substantiate current debates and dialogue within and between degrowth and ecological economics.

1. the economy beyond states and markets
2. the future of employment,  work and care
3. debates on degrowth, green growth, the circular economy, and decoupling
4. the democratisation of the economy and alternative models and forms of organisation
5. the production and conservation of energy
6. low carbon and low energy futures
7. forms of decommodification and non-capitalist modes of resource allocation
8. commoning resources
9. money, debt and the financial system
10. financing the (transition to a) post-growth society
11. monetary and non-monetary measures of prosperity and well-being
12. a universal basic income or universal basic services
13. the green new deal
14. the decentralisation of power
15. decolonization and feminist economics as challenges to power
16. post- growth policy-making, law and governance
17. how to respond to the ethno-nationalist environmentalism and anti-environmentalism of ascendant populist groups
18. the politics of transitions to sustainability and the lessons to be learned from past socio-economic and cultural transformation
19. spatial issues: planning, housing and the future of cities
20. diversity: class, race, gender, abilities
21. Sustainable Development Goals
22. conflict resolution processes and socio-ecological transformations
23. biodiversity, ecosystem services, and sustainable livelihoods
24. social metabolism
25. political economy and ecological economics/degrowth
26. sustainable livelihoods and ecological sufficiency
27. languages of valuation and ecological conflicts
28. extractivism, environmental justice and illicit activities
29. social ecological economics
30. production and consumption
31. slow science and degrowth of publication economy
32. strategies for degrowth transformation: lessons from the Vienna conference

Submission Procedure

There will be two stages for the call for academic and activist contributions. The first stage is a call for sub-theme conveners. Academics and activists who wish to actively participate in these sub-themes or suggest new sub-themes for inclusion in the conference should submit a proposal by 30^th September 2019. Descriptions of the sub-themes should speak to the overall conference theme. It should be sent to degrowth2020@manchester.ac.uk

Each sub-theme can go from one to four sessions, with up to four papers or other contributions per session. There are many formats which a session can adopt, including the traditional format of paper presentations with a specific thematic​ ​focus, roundtable discussions, and participatory sessions encouraging reflection on a particular topic using an open format​ ​(e.g.​ ​discussion​ ​workshops,​ ​dialogical/reading/planning​ ​sessions,​ ​walks​, ​etc.). Sub-theme conveners will be given full autonomy and responsibility for the organisation of sub-themes.

Sub-theme conveners should present the following information in their proposal:

1. theme title;
2. convenor(s);
3. presenters/roundtable participants anticipated;
4. subtheme abstract (1 paragraph, maximum 250 words);
5. how does this subtheme relate to the overall conference theme (maximum 100 words);
6. format (paper presentation, round-table debate, etc.);
7. live or remote or both;
8. number of 1-2 hour sessions anticipated. 

Successful sub theme proposers will hear by 30^th October 2019

Once sub-themes have been selected, we will announce a second deadline for individual papers. The main language of the conference is English, but we will review submissions in other languages​ ​also. For​ ​any​ ​questions,​ ​please​ ​contact​ ​us​ ​at:​ degrowth2020@manchester.ac.uk