Symposium "Sustainability and Spirituality: Building Ecologies of Hope"

The environmental crisis is often seen as a reflection of a deeper spiritual crisis—one of disconnection from nature, consumerism, and loss of purpose. In many societies, economic growth has been pursued at the expense of environmental degradation. A spiritual lens offers alternative narratives of prosperity—ones based on harmony with nature, simplicity, and sufficiency rather than consumption and extraction. Much may be gained by creating a space where practical solutions for environmental sustainability are informed by the deep, transformative power of spiritual and ethical teachings.

It is based on the perceived need to better understand how sustainability and spirituality may be included as part of study programmes, that the "Sustainability and Spirituality: Building Ecologies of Hope" is being organised by the Academy for Sustainable Futures in partnership with The UK Consortium on Sustainability Research (UK-CSR). It will be held in the city of Canterbury, UK on 11-12 September 2025 (North Holmes Road Campus, Verena Holmes building).

The Symposium "Sustainability and Spirituality: Building Ecologies of Hope" is aimed at exploring the profound interconnections between environmental sustainability and spiritual well-being. This Symposium seeks to create a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue, fostering a deeper understanding of how spiritual and ethical values can inform and drive sustainable practices, ultimately building communities rooted in hope and resilience.

Contributions include talks, posters, workshops, temporary art installations and other creative responses. The Conference proposes to offer a space for creative, reflective and discursive activities.

An outcome of the event will be the book "Sustainability and Spirituality: Building Ecologies of Hope", to be published by Springer Nature as part of the World Sustainability Series, the leading peer-reviewed book series on sustainability in a higher education context. It will follow the success of the book "Sustainability and the Humanities" published in 2019.

How to register

Colleagues interested in registering to attend the event, please contact info@iccip.net.

Further details can be seen at: Symposium on Sustainability and Spirituality: Building Ecologies of Hope