Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2021
June 12-15, 2021
Online and onsite in Brisbane, Australia
The Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2021 (SRI2021) is the world’s first transdisciplinary gathering in sustainability – a space of fierce advocacy for sustainability scholarship, innovation, collaboration and action.
This annual event unites global sustainability leaders, experts, industry and innovators to inspire action and promote a sustainability transformation. For the first time, the Congress launched as a live virtual event with a diverse and innovative online program. In addition to the 100+ sessions available throughout the day and night, thanks to the global reach of SRI and partners, the rich agenda also included workshops, training and more.
SRI is a joint initiative of Future Earth and the Belmont Forum. Australia, who hosted the Congress in 2021, has a unique role to play in the global community as a conduit between the Global North and the Global South, indigenous peoples and traditional sustainability practices. The local hosting consortium, led by Future Earth Australia and CSIRO, featured academia and government partners from Brisbane and the State of Queensland to meet the breadth of the SRI2021 agenda.
SRI2021 Congress Platform
Collective action toward shared goals: Day 3 of SRI2021
Over the past three days, SRI2021 has provided a platform for diverse perspectives across disciplines, age groups, ethnicities, genders and countries, all with a view towards action and a global sustainability transformation.
South Africa to host next Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress in 2022
The next Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress in 2022 will be held in Pretoria, South Africa, hosted by the Future Africa Institute at the University of Pretoria.
Sustainability science takes center stage at Day 2 of SRI2021
The second day of SRI2021 continued with a varied program exploring a breadth of sustainability research and innovations from fashion to wildlife management to the impact of climate change on mental health.
Plenary speakers
Stan Grant
Vice Chancellor's Chair, Australian / Indigenous Belonging, Charles Sturt University
Lidia Arthur Brito
Regional Director for Sciences, Latin-America and Caribbean, UNESCO
Sir Peter Gluckman ONZ KNZ FRS
Heads Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, University of Auckland, Chair, International Network of Government Science Advice (INGSA) and President-elect, International Science Council (ISC)
Valérie Verdier
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD)
Leena Srivastava
Deputy Director General for Science, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria
Thomas Melonio
Executive Director of Innovation, Research, and Knowledge, Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
Sharan Burrow
General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
Filippo Veglio
Managing Director & Senior Management Team, WBCSD
Jessica Hellmann
Executive Director, University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, Ecolab Chair in Environmental Leadership
John Agard
Director, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Co-chair of GSDR2023, Trinidad and Tobago
Rebecca Matsie
Senior Researcher, South African Local Government Association
Imme Scholz
Deputy Director, German Development Institute, Co-chair of GSDR2023, Germany
Lil Alessa
Chief Scientist, Joint Special Operations University
Meg Parsons
Senior Lecturer, School of Environment, The University of Auckland
Joshua Gilbert
Indigenous consultant, agriculturalist and innovator
Zarina Patel
Associate Professor of Human Geography, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town
Advancing sustainability research and innovation
NETWORKING
Connecting diverse knowledge systems, academia with a range of stakeholders, policy makers with informed constituencies, funders across sectors, and innovators with clientele.
PARTNERSHIP BUILDING
Creating robust communities of practice, supporting cross-sectoral funder dialogue and action, and connecting local implementation with global frameworks.
TRAINING
Building capacity in understanding, co-developing and co-implementing sustainable solutions, supporting legacy learning, exploring novel communications approaches and enhancing transparency through open data and open access.
KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE OPPORTUNITIES
Sharing lessons learned and best practices, building understanding and synthesizing knowledge of sustainability, co-developing metrics for evaluation of sustainable development and investment, demonstrating innovative solutions to achieve the SDGs, publishing in diverse accessible media outlets for maximum uptake and dissemination.
CONVENERS
SPONSORS
HOSTING CONSORTIUM
The Transformations Conference 2021: Enabling Positive Tipping Points, is a satellie event of SRI2021, and will be organized as an online conference from June 17-18, 2021. Transformations 2021 is the fifth edition of an international conference series bringing together a broad community of researchers and change-makers working on societal transformations. The online conference will showcase the latest developments in research and practice of transformations towards sustainability, as well as support and celebrate transdisciplinary learning networks for new collective international initiatives. Live co-creative sessions and keynotes will occur at different timezones providing the opportunity to participants worldwide to join the sessions live. The focus is to work collaboratively on a synthesis on action-oriented knowledge in the light of the global pandemic.