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CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

 

Call for SRI/SSD2024 Congress in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland, has closed.
Submission portal remains open for the SRI2024 Africa Satellite Event until January 15
 

The Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress (SRI), the world’s largest sustainability research and innovation convening, and Sustainability Science Days (SSD), the largest sustainability conference in Finland, have joined forces. The SRI2024 Congress will be held in collaboration with SSD from 10-14 June, 2024 in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland.

Since 2021, SRI has united global leaders in research, government, civil society, and business to meaningfully advance progress towards sustainability. The SRI Congress offers an exceptionally inclusive and inspiring global platform for co-creating state-of-the-art solutions and innovations and building a coalition of the willing to achieve a sustainability transformation. SRI is co-convened by Future Earth and the Belmont Forum with local co-organizers. SRI has been held in Oceania, Africa, and Latin America, and is now heading to Europe. 

SRI is excited to connect in 2024 with Sustainability Science Days, the premier sustainability science event in Finland.  SSD has grown its following over six years engaging hundreds of Finnish and international researchers and actors in sustainability.  SSD is a joint collaborative effort between Finland’s two largest universities, the University of Helsinki and Aalto University.

This call for contributions is open to any group of people working to accelerate sustainability transformation including the research sector, government, business, philanthropy, art, and civil society. All submissions will be reviewed by the SRI/SSD2024 program committee.

Contributions to the SRI/SSD2024 central congress in Finland are hybrid (streamed on the SRI/SSD2024 online platform and allowing online speakers in addition to onsite speakers). However, a limited number of onsite and online only sessions can be accommodated upon request. The SRI/SSD2024 Africa Satellite Event welcomes both online and hybrid contributions. 

Explore SRI/SSD2024 Themes and Contribution Types, and also make sure to review the instructions below before submitting your proposal. If you have any questions, please contact Team SRI (sri@futureearth.org). 

Table of Contents
SRI/SSD2024 Themes
SRI/SSD2024 Contribution Types
Criteria for Selection
General information to All Contribution Organizers
Sponsoring Sessions and Events at SRI2024

SRI/SSD2024 Themes 

There are four Congress themes for SRI/SSD2024. These themes are inspirational and meant to spark ideas for contributions. Cross-cutting proposals are also welcome. Please choose the theme(s) that best meet(s) the goals of your session or event. 

These themes are:

  • Green Transitions
  • Transforming Technologies and the Future of Work
  • Living on the Frontlines of Change – The Arctic and Beyond
  • Powering the World

Please consult the SRI/SSD2024 website for more detailed descriptions of these themes.

SRI/SSD2024 Contribution Types

For this call, we are accepting contributions in one of these three types: 

  1. Interactive Roundtables
  2. Workshops and Tutorials
  3. Networking Activities

Please consult the section below for additional information on the types of contributions SRI/SSD2024 is inviting. 

1. Interactive Roundtables

Format:  

Interactive roundtables are moderated conversations and/or series of short presentations addressing one of the SRI/SSD2024 themes. Proposals for interactive roundtables must require a description of how the audience will be engaged. Innovative approaches to hybrid audience participation are welcome and encouraged. Successful roundtable proposals will be accessible and understable for the general public and avoid technical language.

Requirements:

  • Roundtables must not exceed 90 minutes. Interactive Roundtables should have at least 3 but no more than 6 speakers, of which at least 2 are onsite. 
  • Interactive Roundtable proposals are required to have a clearly stated goal and expected outcomes as well as a detailed plan for audience engagement.
  • Roundtables are required to have a moderator or facilitator.
  • Roundtables must be open to all Congress attendees.
  • All Roundtables will be recorded and the recordings will be made available on the SRI/SSD2024 online Congress platform. 

2. Workshops and Tutorials

Format:  

Workshops and tutorials are welcomed to develop skills, broaden and deepen networks, engage early career professionals and other target groups, share best practices, determine impact, co-design papers and proposals, and foster other interactive products and learnings. Each workshop and tutorial proposal will include potential metrics for success for the workshop that outlines the desired impact. 
Workshops and tutorials will be on a topic relevant to the SRI/SSD2024 themes, with specified, action-oriented outcomes to be generated as a result of the workshop for both the group delivering the training and the participants.

Requirements:

  • Workshops must not exceed 2 hours. 
  • Workshops must be open to all Congress attendees.
  • Each workshop must have at least two speakers or facilitators, at least one of which is onsite.
  • Each workshop proposal must clearly outline the desired outcomes and metrics of success of the workshop. Data based on those metrics will be shared with the SRI team after the Congress.
  • All workshops will be recorded and the recordings will be made available on the SRI/SSD2024 online Congress platform. 

3. Networking Activities

Format:

Networking Activities are opportunities to connect with decision-makers, potential clients, implementers, and experts from different fields and sectors to develop new collaborations, community, understanding, and opportunities. SRI/SSD2024 invites proposals for networking activities that are inclusive, action-forward, and addressing one or more of the SRI/SSD2024 themes.  Networking contributions should describe their participatory approach and/or networking design as well as a plan for engaging SRI/SSD attendees. Digital networking platforms and tools are encouraged to maximize hybrid engagement.

Requirements:

  • Networking Activities must not exceed 60 minutes.
  • Networking Activities must be inclusive and open to all Congress attendees.
  • Each proposal must include at least two facilitators, at least one of which is onsite, and a clear plan on how to ensure successful engagement of virtual and in-person participants in a hybrid format.
  • Each proposal must clearly outline the planned activities as well as their objectives and their desired outcomes.
  • Where possible, depending on format, Networking Activities will be recorded and the recordings will be made available on the SRI/SSD2024 online Congress platform. 

If you look for inspiration, we recommend the following resource: Timeout

Criteria for Selection

Please consult the selection criteria below.

Your proposal:

  • Demonstrates relevance to the main themes of SRI/SSD2024 and follows the guidelines as noted for each submission type
  • Strives to include diverse perspectives, engage with a range of communities, and combine different knowledge streams 
    For example, a proposal exploring sustainable supply chains might include perspectives from academia, business, policy, and law. Preference will be given to proposals with speakers from at least two different sectors and proposals with the potential to inspire new transdisciplinary collaborations.
    While not required, SRI is particularly interested in supporting contributions from young and early career professionals and researchers, Indigenous peoples, as well as participants from low and middle-income countries (please see definitions below).*
  • Proposes novel and creative solutions that move knowledge to action
  • Outlines a feasible pathway to achieving impact
  • Includes a detailed session plan that engages audience

Please note that in the case of similar proposals being submitted, the SRI/SSD2024 program committee may ask those organizers to collaborate and co-create a combined session.

General information to All Organizers

  • All contributions are required to have an organizer/single contact point who is responsible for confirming the speakers and corresponding with them between the proposal submission and the Congress. 
  • All speakers and facilitators must be confirmed and registered for the Congress by March 15, 2024. Please note that contributions whose participants fail to meet the registration deadline will not be included in the Congress program. 
  • All organizers can share material on their session page on the SRI/SSD2024 online Congress platform before and after the contribution. 
  • The language of all proposals to the Central Congress in Finland must be English
  • It is highly recommended that all organizers attend a virtual 30-minute Congress platform training session prior to the Congress. 
  • There will be an SRI/SSD2024 staff member providing technical support in each room.
  • For additional questions, please contact: sri@futureearth.org

Sponsoring Sessions and Events at SRI/SSD2024

  • If you are interested in sponsoring an open access session or event, please contact sri@futureearth.org. 
  • SRI/SSD2024 offers various sponsorship opportunities. Explore our package here. 

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*Early career:
We define an early career as anyone whose career has started within the last 10 years. This includes researchers who have received their Bachelor’s or Master’s qualification within the last 10 years or their PhD within the last six years, as well as professionals working at the interface of society, policy, practice, and research.

Low and middle-income countries:

Low and middle-income countries are defined according to the OECD DAC list of ODA recipients. 

Indigenous groups:
Indigenous groups are defined according to Article 1 (1b) of the International Labour Organisation’s Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (ILO No. 169 ). This convention applies to: 
a) tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by special laws or regulations;
(b) peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonization or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions.
 

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More information at sricongress.org.