The Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program

Humanity is facing increasingly complex societal challenges. Current coordination mechanisms, problem-solving strategies, and modes of scientific inquiry, teaching, and learning that focus primarily on the external dimensions of sustainability appear insufficient to address these challenges. As a result, inner spheres of transformation—also reflected in concepts such as the Inner Development Goals—are emerging as a promising area of exploration.

The “Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program” was established to explore this area and to create space and opportunities for learning, networking, and knowledge development around related topics. In this context, particular attention is given to sustainable urban development, as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Building blocks
The Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program consists of several interconnected components, including teaching, networking, and research activities. These include:
i) a Master’s-level course on Sustainability and Inner Transformation;
ii) open courses on Psychology and Climate Change and Arts, Aesthetics, and Existential Resilience;
iii) a knowledge database and network (community of practice*); and
iv) a total of nine research projects.

*Please send an email to [email protected] if you would like to become part of the network (and related mailing lists) or would like to share relevant research, practice or teaching approaches for the knowledge database.

Program leader
Christine Wamsler, Professor at Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS). 

Cooperating partner organisations
External cooperating partner organisations include, among others, the UNDP Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA), The Inner Development Goals (IDGs) Initiative, the Global Compassion Coalition, The Inner Green Deal, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),  the Global University Coalition for Student Inner Development, Forward Malmö, Mind & Life (US and Europe), Åland Region, and the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS, previously IASS, Potsdam).

Supporting funding organisation
The Program and the associated projects have received financial support through The Swedish Research Council Formas, Vinnova, The Emergence Foundation, The Templeton Foundation, the European Union, and Movetia.

Keywords
Personal sustainability, inner transformation, inner transition, inner dimensions, interiority, inner development goals, worldviews, paradigms, values, emotions, consciousness, religion, spirituality, contemplative practices, other ways of knowing, mindfulness, compassion, animism, ecopsychology, well-being, climate anxiety, culture change.

Related links
Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education (ACMHE); Mind and Life Institute; Centre for Healthy Minds; Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education; Social Neuroscience at Max Planck Institute; Oxford Mindfulness Centre; Mindful Futures Network; Mindfulness and Social Change Network; A Mindset for the Anthropocene (AMA) at IASS; Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC); Climate Psychology Alliance (CPA); The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT.