5th International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity

Budapest will host the 5th International Degrowth Conference at Corvinus University (30 August – 3 September 2016). The conference will link the most visible degrowth thinkers of today with academic and participatory audiences in Hungary and the wider region. At the same time Budapest will be the host of the first Degrowth Week, which will feature numerous degrowth activists, practitioners and policy-makers.

Degrowth is a movement which reminds us that infinite growth on a finite planet is neither sustainable nor desirable. Degrowth deconstructs the myth that growth is the central solution for the impasse our societies have led us to. The movement tries to understand the convergence of the crises we are experiencing and argues that they are interconnected. The Degrowth movement tries to construct serene and democratic pathways toward more social and environmental justice, well-being, meaningful livelihoods, emancipation, conviviality and autonomy.

Budapest will host the 5th International Degrowth Conference from the 30th of August to the 3rd of September 2016. After Paris in 2008, Barcelona in 2010, Venice in 2012 and Leipzig in 2014, the conference, which focuses on ecological sustainability and social equity, will be held in the Corvinus University of Budapest.

First and foremost, the conference is a meeting place of prominent academic researchers from across the globe. Every two years the gathering offers them a ground for discussing the latest developments in this new interdisciplinary field of research. They focus on issues related to the breaching of environmental limits and the failure of economic infrastructures to provide a dignified existence in society. The scientific community also interacts with practitioners during the conference in order to articulate viable alternatives to the current socio-economic models.

Within this conference, a space will also be designated for the wider public. Budapest will be the cradle of a new initiative, called the Degrowth Week, which will create a new platform for practical activities and workshops, partnership with local initiatives, participatory discussions and debates among a wide circle of stakeholders and cultural, artistic and creative programmes throughout the city. During the spring of 2016, the wider public will be invited to help the organisers curate the events of the Degrowth week.

Degrowth is not an entirely new issue in Hungary. The conference will highlight the work of the renowned Hungarian thinker Karl Polanyi and his seminal work “The Great Transformation”. Decades after the publication of this foundational piece, degrowth re-entered Hungary in 2011 with the Hungarian translation of Serge Latouche’s book “Farewell to Growth.” Since then degrowth has been fiercely debated in Hungary with the publication of several books, articles, along with the organisation of public discussions and participatory workshops. It is also influencing the development of practical local initiatives like Cyclonomia or Cargonomia.

Join us in Budapest.

The Budapest Degrowth Conference organisation team
https://budapest.degrowth.org/
contact@budapest-degrowth.org