• The need to clearly articulate theories of change — “why” and “how” arts and culture can advance sustainability goals;
• The need to shift from an economic system based on extractive logic to one that values stewardship and regeneration;
• The importance of intermediaries who can communicate and build connections across different disciplines, worldviews, cultures, and geographies;
• The need to pursue immediate, if imperfect, action to make improvements in our current unsustainable systems while we also do the slower strategic work needed for long-term system-wide change;
• The need for more “human” definitions of what “development” means and more nuanced metrics of wellbeing that are not based on economic growth;
• The need to acknowledge and work through the existential and emotional dimensions of this crisis in addition to the political and technological ones; and
• The need for an ongoing, multi-sector dialogue about sustainable transitions that can produce new language as well as more impactful policies and practices.
The session broadened the collective understanding of the group of the multiple ways that arts and culture can be catalysts for sustainability. The session connected participants to a global community of imaginative leaders dedicated to change, and helped them see their work in a larger context. The gathering suggested that the path forward is less about achieving lock- step alignment of approaches and perspectives and more about creating a conceptual framework that allows us to see, and value, how each approach contributes to our shared ultimate goal—a more sustainable way of being in the world.
