Open Call

The 7th International Degrowth / 16th International Society for Ecological Economics Joint Conference

Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of ecological and political crisis

Manchester, 5 - 9 July 2021

Open Call for Contributions

We are pleased to announce our open call for papers, special sessions (round tables, symposia), participative sessions, activist and artistic sessions. Information about the conference can be found at this link.

The conference will combine scholarly discussion and presentations with contributions from artists, activists, community groups and politicians. We are greatly looking forward to a rich dialogue.

Please upload your proposal on the dedicated platform.

If you submitted to the Budapest or Malmö conferences you will already have an account and this should work again: if not, please let us know at this address.

Your submission will fall under one of 14 themes. If you aren’t sure of which, just choose the one that seems closest to what you are offering. Description of themes appear at this link.

Activist Law, Governance, Policy and Politics
Arts Materials, Energy, Waste and Climate
Alternative economies Organisation and Business
Alternative livelihoods, well-being and ways of living Rural/agriculture/food
Communication, Education and Pedagogy Theoretical perspectives
Feminism Transitions / Designs for the future
Green New Deal Urban and spatial planning

There are also some preset keywords: please choose those that are most appropriate.

The deadline for submissions will be announced and we look forward to your proposals. There will be an additional call in September, focussing on ecological economics and degrowth in the light of the pandemic. It will centre on the question of alternative livelihoods and the economy after Covid19.

Additional information:

A guide to uploading submissions is available HERE.

Formats of academic submissions

  • Individual papers that will be grouped into sessions by the conference organisers.
  • Participatory sessions encourage reflection on a particular topic using an open format (e.g. discussion workshops, dialogues/reading/planning sessions, walks etc).

Format of activist sessions

  • degrowth in practice events might involve, for example: organising swaps; workshops on making/repair, agricultural initiatives, technology commons, publishing, waste reduction, reuse, sustainable and just energy; degrowth workshops for kids and elderly people.
  • meetings of social movements and grassroots initiatives​, ​especially meetings that stimulate dialogues between different groups.
  • co-consultancy sessions where groups seek help from other groups re diagnosis, organisation, communication, tactics and strategy.
  • conference live-streaming and other media support.
  • proposals for public-facing events, including a demonstration or similar mass event in public space on the closing day.
  • we also invite local groups to get involved as partners in coordinating the conference.
  • logistics on the ground (e.g. via organising crash-pad accommodation, transport, volunteers etc).

Artistic Sessions

All forms of artistic expression are welcome (e.g. visual art, theatre, dance, music, poetry, performance art, etc etc etc etc etc). A connection to degrowth is not a requirement, but we would like some of these sessions to engage with it or have a political aspect more broadly.

Participatory formats are most welcome.

We invite local groups to get involved as partners ​in organising artistic events such as:

  • exhibitions​ on degrowth or related themes in Manchester parallel (& prior) to the conference.
  • film showings ​on degrowth or related themes - within the conference or in venues around Greater Manchester.
  • theatre events ​on degrowth or related themes in Manchester before or parallel to the conference.
  • artistic programme for​ children during the conference.