Scholars United for a Sustainable Amsterdam - Roundtable 2

SCHOLARS UNITED FOR A SUSTAINABLE AMSTERDAM - ROUNDTABLE 2

On Wednesday 15 September the second SUSA Roundtable will take place.  SUSA is an interdisciplinary network that aims to engage Amsterdam’s academics and other thinkers in making Amsterdam Doughnut-proof. The past months, SUSA has been busy collecting stories from citizens and organisations in Amsterdam about the obstacles they encounter when trying to live or do business in a doughnut-proof way, that is, without harming the planet or others around them. We received beautiful stories about problems and concerns, but also with ideas and possible solutions. We are very happy with the input we received and would like to thank all contributors. We organized the information we received into eight themes that form the starting point for the interdisciplinary team work in the coming months. 

Eight obstacles to overcome
Eight clusters of obstacles to overcome have been identified to make Amsterdam doughnut-proof. Attached you can find the eight themes we identified with a short problem description. We will elaborate on each of these themes during the roundtable to brainstorm with you and to gauge your interest to work on one of these themes in an interdisciplinary team the upcoming months.  

Team work
We hope to set up 4 to 6 teams that will work on their preferred ‘obstacle to overcome’ during September, October and November 2021. The teams are free to decide how often they meet and whether they will meet online or in person. Each team appoints 2 team leads. We hope that teams meet a few times to be able to delve deeply into their topic. On 1 December the (hybrid) SUSA conference will take place, with Kate Raworth as the confirmed keynote speaker. The teams are invited to present their analysis and solutions during the conference and to use the audience as their sounding board to test their ideas.  

The solutions
Each team will be working towards a doughnut-proof Amsterdam by delving deeply into their ‘obstacle to overcome’. Your solutions may come in many forms, let your creativity flow wildly! You may deliver a written report, a presentation, a database, a movie, a clip, a business idea, or any other research outcome. Do not feel the pressure to deliver a finalized end product: Amsterdam was not built in a day, neither will we make Amsterdam doughnut-proof in a few months. The aim is to bring together smart and creative individuals in an interdisciplinary setting to investigate if we can innovate to make our city doughnut-proof. We love theory, but concrete and actionable solutions we love even more! 

Join the roundtable meeting
Where: Zoom, link: https://uva-live.zoom.us/j/86463890742
When: Wednesday 15 September, 15.30 – 17.00 CEST
For whom: We invite anyone with a heart for science and sustainability to join our roundtable. We hope that academics from the University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, University of Applied Sciences and the Academy of Architecture join us, but we welcome anyone with a sincere interest in science and sustainability.