Abstract submission is now open, please submit your abstract here.
The final date for submission of abstracts is 27 March 2026.
We invite contributions from all strategic research programs and beyond to present research, discuss, and reimagine futures at our biennial conference. The event welcomes all scholars interested in advancing sustainable social, economic, and environmental wellbeing through research and debate.
Descriptions of the tracks
1. The Automated (post-) truth futures
The track invites researchers and practitioners to engage in a critical exploration of the assumptions, mechanisms, and consequences embedded in automated decision-making, processes, and technologies as well as AI-driven content generation tools, and data-based influence mechanisms which challenge traditional understandings of information credibility, public discourse, and democratic decision-making. As AI and automation becomes increasingly integrated into diverse aspects of society — from public administration and business operations to everyday life — this track seeks to foster a nuanced understanding of both its transformative potential and its complex risks. We welcome contributions that analyze how AI and automation shapes, and is shaped by social, organizational, and political contexts. This track invites interdisciplinary contributions that may examine, for instance, post-truth dynamics in digital environments from theoretical, empirical, and methodological perspectives. Of interest are questions related to power, technology, and the legitimacy of knowledge, as well as the capacity of individuals and societies to distinguish verifiable information from manipulative or misleading content. How truth is negotiated, contested, and reconfigured in the digital age?
2. Precarious democracies and polarization
The track explores the state of democratic societies as well as complex interplay between it and the spread of disinformation and the weakening support for democracy amongst citizens. Our societies are increasingly shaped by large-scale contemporary challenges such as political polarization, autocratization, increasing inequalities and youth marginalization. These issues pose serious threats to our ways of life and to democracy. The developments are deepened by AI technologies, which can both enable and combat disinformation, influence public opinion, and thus impact democratic processes. In this track we ask, how can we prevent or mitigate these troubling trajectories, and what kinds of solutions can help make our futures more resilient, just and less uncertain in the context of social and environmental multi-crises and digital age?
3. Security, trust, and resilience: building sustainable societies
The track invites interdisciplinary research on how security, trust, and resilience underpin sustainable and adaptive societies. We welcome contributions addressing the safeguarding of critical infrastructure such as biodiversity, water, energy as well as security and governance, marine and coastal infrastructures, and digital infrastructures — amid geopolitical, environmental, and digital challenges. The track also explores how trust, social cohesion, and innovative governance can strengthen resilience and accelerate sustainability transformation. Relevant topics may include, but are not limited to, for instance, enhancing community resilience to climate change and environmental disruptions, governance models for crisis preparedness and adaptive capacity, building trust in public institutions and digital systems, and fostering social cohesion in polarized or fragmented societies. We also welcome contributions on how shared resources, such as water, influence resilience, peace, and cooperation across regions, and how governance models can prevent resource-based conflicts while ensuring equitable access.
4. Environmental and social sustainability transitions
The track invites policy-relevant contributions that examine how future transitions can be governed in ways that are socially just, environmentally effective, and institutionally legitimate. We welcome research on the governance of just transitions, including distributional, procedural, and recognitional implications for work, skills, multispecies livelihoods, regions, and vulnerable groups. We also invite research on water-related transitions, such as sustainable water management in agriculture, industry, and urban systems, and their role in achieving climate and biodiversity goals. In addition, we encourage contributions addressing marine and coastal dimensions of just transitions, including blue economy sectors. The track emphasizes the integration of environmental and social sustainability by encouraging studies that incorporate non-human species and ecosystems into transition governance, and by analyzing how policy frameworks, regulatory instruments, and participatory arrangements can reconcile social equity, biodiversity recovery, and climate objectives. Contributions addressing power, accountability, and coordination across scales in designing just transition pathways within planetary boundaries are particularly encouraged.
5. Economic basis for the future: innovation, work, and expertise
The track explores the evolving economic challenges and opportunities shaping our future. We welcome research spanning techno-economic visions of the twin transition, productivity in public sector services, and private sector innovations and investments. This includes questions on how changing work, skills, and expertise contribute to economic resilience and adaptability. Especially important is, how can we maintain and strengthen our economic foundations while addressing pressing environmental and social challenges? What role do emerging technologies and new innovation and business ecosystems can play? How do we organize public services and respond to fiscal crises? In what ways can emerging technologies, new forms of work, and evolving expertise drive sustainable and inclusive growth?
6. Future generations, individuals and agency
The track explores how the well-being, learning outcomes, and equitable opportunities of individuals, children and young people are essential for both social and environmental sustainability. It highlights the role of individuals as agents of change, whether they are acting, for instance, as knowledge producers, decision makers, consumers, educators, or activists. While systemic and structural interventions remain critical, the actions and decisions of individuals can catalyze meaningful shifts toward resilient and sustainable futures. This includes fostering stewardship of natural ecosystems such as forest and water as part of education and community resilience. We invite research that develops solutions to reduce welfare disparities, prevent inequality and social exclusion, and strengthen adaptive capacities in communities and institutions, as well as contributions addressing how individual and collective agency can foster hope, resilience, and active citizenship in supporting ecological sustainability and environmental stewardship.
7. Open track
The track is open for topics for which authors do not find suitable track. The organizers will decide after evaluation whether contribution will be placed to an existing track or is a new track formed for new themes.
Important dates
Abstract submission open: February 2026
Final date for submission of abstracts: 27 March 2026
Information of approvals and opening of registration: 7 May 2026
Final program: at the beginning of June 2026
Conference: 23-24 September 2026