Research
Sustainability in Action – 2026 This book examines the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in practice and ideation. It explores how sustainability is exercised in a variety of public, political and cultural contexts, ranging from preserving indigenous voices and oral traditions; the appropriation of sustainability narratives by multinationals and large corporations; the democratising impact […]
Sustainability in Action – 2026
This book examines the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in practice and ideation. It explores how sustainability is exercised in a variety of public, political and cultural contexts, ranging from preserving indigenous voices and oral traditions; the appropriation of sustainability narratives by multinationals and large corporations; the democratising impact of streaming services on short-form film and video content; sustainability practices in the creative industries; the essential formation and preservation of communities through the arts; and threats to achieving sustainability in response to the UK’s current higher education crisis. The book employs a multidisciplinary approach to sustainability that sits across cultural studies, politics, sociology and media, with contributing authors from New Zealand, Malysia, Indonesia, Denmark, and the UK.
Available at: Springer Nature
The Mediation 0f Sustainability – 2023
In 2015, the United Nations set out an ambitious plan under UN Resolution 70/1 to prioritize seventeen separate goals over a fifteen-year period to promote health, life, equality, and the environment.
The Sustainable Development Goals include ending poverty and hunger; reducing inequality; promoting good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life under water; life on land; peace, justice, and strong institutions; and developing partnerships to achieve these goals.
This book examines the way in which SDG initiatives have been disseminated by mainstream media, in government discourse and by NGO’s, charitable organisations, and campaign groups. It questions to what extent sustainability narratives are being supported and how they are represented; how saving the environment can be made pertinent to someone who has no access to clean food or running water; and why local initiatives (in which indigenous populations are making a real difference) are overshadowed by multinationals whose attempts to rectify the damage their goods have done gains more credible reportage.
Contributors include Mariana Abreau, Rhys Davies, Jenifer Ere, Shiv Ganesh, Steven Graham, Ben Harbisher, Delayney Harness, Candy Marisol Hernandez, Richard Irwin, Julius Klingelhoefer, Jason Lee, Michel Leroy, Bárbara Lima, and Stuart Price
Available at: Bloomsbury Press
Conferences
As part of the #SDGFilmfest project we run an annual conference on sustainability.
The conferences have featured speakers including Mr Rizal Malik (CEO World Wildlife Federation Indonesia), Ms Jayashri Wyatt (Chief Education Outreach Officer for the UN), Mr Miklos Gaspar (Director of the UN Information Centre in Jakarta), Dr Paul Smith (former Director of British Council Indonesia), and Mr Summer Xia (Director for British Council Indonesia and Director for Southeast Asia). Leading world academics and representatives from industry have also given papers at these events.
