Culture in for and as Sustainable Development

COST Action IS1007
Investigating Cultural Sustainability
6
Investigating Cultural Sustainability is a European
research network focused in a multidisciplinary
perspective on the relationship
between culture and sustainable development.
During its four year period (2011-2015)
its main objective was to highlight European
research across its members’ countries in
order to provide policy makers with instruments
for integrating culture as a key element
of the sustainable development. Action’s
network was composed of around 100
researchers from 25 countries within the EU,
with participants as well from Israel, New
Zealand and Australia. It held a wide variety
of disciplines and fields of research, ranging
from cultural, humanistic and social sciences,
through political and natural sciences
to planning. These were organised in three
thematic clusters – Concepts, Policies and
Assessments – which are broadly reflected
in the structure of this document.
The work of the network was supported by
the European COST Association (COperation
in Science and Technology) and funded
within the European Commission’s research
programme Horizon 2020. COST Actions are
designed to build new knowledge by bringing
together researchers to cooperate and coordinate
nationally-funded research activities,
and to build up new transnational and international
research co-operation. The funding
provides an opportunity for researchers to
develop their competences, share experience
and expertise with colleagues in other
countries, and improve their research career
through workshops, training and exchange
programs.
Action Investigating Cultural Sustainability in
its four years organised eight workshops or
symposiums hosted by its members across
Europe, and a cross-cutting meeting was organised
in Brussels for stakeholders in order
to collate and produce new knowledge
with the help of external experts, scholars,
policy-makers and practitioners. Over 30
research missions between the research institutes
were carried out by members of the
Action, and two training schools were organised
to strengthen the topic among the young
researchers working in this field. A key outcome
of the Action was the establishment of
a new series of books that establish culture
and sustainability as an important emerging
and active field of research. Published as
‘Routledge Studies in Culture and Sustainable
Development’, the series has been inaugurated
by three volumes of papers drawn
from and representative of the work of the
Action itself.
The results of the work – including the publication
of the present document, ‘Culture in,
for and as Sustainable Development’ - were
shared and discussed in a final public conference
in Helsinki on 6-8 May 2015, ‘Culture(s)
in Sustainable Futures: theories, policies,
practices’.
www.culturalsustainability.eu
www.cost.eu