The University of A Coruna committed to the co-production of knowledge for reducing the ecological footprint of Europe
In the afternoon of March 3rd the international workshop “Dialogues on Theoretical Development and Modelling towards Sustainability” ended at the University of A Coruna (UDC). This two-day workshop brought around thirty sustainability experts from diverse fields of the social sciences, such as economics, political science and psychology but also from computer engineering and industrial ecology together. The project is coordinated by Prof. García Mira and will finish in 2016.
During the session on March 3rd, the discussions focused on how to integrate the work developed by the universities involved with the project. The universities prepared a survey design, an agent-based model and an econometric analysis, all of which contribute to the outcomes of the GLAMURS project and will be further developed during the next months. These three tools will also be crucial in understanding the drivers of sustainable lifestyles, which are already present in the seven European case studies of GLAMURS.
Throughout the project the team aims to develop a deeper knowledge on some outstanding initiatives, which are transitioning to more sustainable lifestyles. Among these initiatives there is one in Aberdeen (UK), which works to reduce its oil dependence; one renewable energy-cooperative in Central Germany, ecovillages in Timis (RO), agroecological initiatives near Rotterdam (NL) and the region of Latio (IT). Likewise the People-Environment Research Group (UDC) will study some initiatives from Galicia working in sustainable food and clothing.
Aside from researchers working at the University of A Coruna, the theoretical meeting sessions of this international workshop engaged expert researchers from the following universities and research centres : University of Bath (UK), James Hutton Institute (Scotland, UK), University of Roma Tre (Italy), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway) and Universidad de La Laguna (Spain, Canary Islands) .