Sustainable Lifestyles: Communication and Journalism Skills for the Future

26 June, 2:00 p.m., Plenary Chamber
Hosted by UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production GmbH (CSCP)

How will an IT expert, a housewife or a textile worker live in 2050? What will their mobility, eating and housing patterns look like? How will future cities and rural communities be designed? How will new infrastructure change their lives and how will their behaviors differ from today’s? How will media and communication influence their everyday life? And how can communication and journalism support a shift towards more sustainable lifestyles?

The workshop aims to develop a better understanding of how media and communications influence lifestyles. It will explore the role journalists and communication experts can play in advancing citizen understanding and engagement, and to encourage the questioning and challenging of current ways of living in order to pave pathways to more sustainable ones.

To set the basis for discussion, scenarios for future sustainable lifestyles, which have been developed as part of the SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles 2050 project, will be presented. The presentation will be followed by a discussion on how people’s lives are currently shaped by media and communication, how different forms of communication can influence more sustainable lifestyles in the future and which skills will be required (perhaps not currently existing) to enable future sustainable societies and lifestyles. Finally, breakout groups will discuss “must haves” and milestones related to the role of media and communication in enabling more sustainable lifestyles by 2050.

Panelists:

Hicks, Cheryl
Team Leader Sustainable Lifestyles and Project Director SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles 2050, UNEP / Wuppertal Institute (CSCP), Germany

Mizera, Sue
Managing Director, Young & Rubicam Business Consultants, Geneva, Switzerland

Rossing, Gabriëlle (Moderator)
Consultant, UNEP / Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production, Germany