RSA Fellows gather for conference on Designing for Society for Life and Sustainability

At times marked by unprecedented multilateral and environmental challenges, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) was welcomed by RGU’s School of Law and Social Sciences for an afternoon of conference bringing together RSA fellows and members of the public from across the North East of Scotland.

The event formed part of the RSA’s Initiative 'Design for Life', and took place on Tuesday 18 March in lecture theatre N242 at RGU. It centred on three presentations and a sustainability workshop, altogether showcasing international, ethical, and community level expressions of progress and initiatives geared towards contributing to the delivery of our society’s sustainable development goals.

The talks demonstrated that if our sustainable and equitable future will result from today’s reinforced and redesigned multilateralism, this priority now binding the whole of humanity certainly requires effective actions at community and individual level.

The conference and delegates were welcomed by John Clifford, Dean of RGU’s School of Law and Social Sciences and RSA fellow.

Kicking off the proceedings was RSA’s Amy McPherson, who laid the foundational context of the day reminding the audience of the RSA’s missions and initiatives. Insisting on the forward-looking nature of RSA programs and contributions, this introduction suitably transitioned to the opening keynote which was led by myself, SFHEA, and exploring “The Pact for the Future: Reshaping Decision-Making for Sustainable Development Goals' Delivery.” I explored the UN’s 2024 Pact for the Future offered insight into the UN’s new doctrine and priorities for multilateralism which will give greater focus on certain UN priorities. This new doctrine comes with a set of actions to turbocharge the UN for delivering on the sustainable development goals and the new ‘Pact for Future Generations’, with a first progress report on the latter set to 2028.

Next, Dr Nigel Dower, emeritus senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Aberdeen and Chair of the United Nations Association Aberdeen Branch, explored the “Ethical Foundations of Sustainability.” Dr Dower’s ethical and philosophical exploration demonstrated the need for individual progress to understand the moral imperatives of sustainability, urging collective responsibility and ecocentric, more than anthropocentric, ethical awareness as pivotal elements in creating a holistic sustainable future.

In a move to bring theory into practice, Mark Hope, FRSA, presented his keynote on “Small Beautiful Actions Towards Healthy and Happy Communities.” Mark’s emphasis on grassroots initiatives and their cumulative impact resonated deeply with the audience, highlighting the power of community-led transformation and the regenerative impact of individual initiatives on people and communities.

Danielle Dale, FRSA and sustainability consultant, close the series by her transformative workshop titled “Cultivating a Regenerative Mindset for Future-Fit Leadership.” This interactive session drew participants into a dialogue about embracing environmental actions through sustainability awareness, dialogue, and understanding of sense for sustainability delivery paradigms.

Closing the event, Professor Lorna Dawson CBE offered a synthesis of the afternoon’s discussions. Her generous reflections connected the diverse threads of conversation, specifically emphasizing the need to connect all four lead dimensions discussed throughout the afternoon. Institutional, ethical, individual, and organisational. Professor Dawson, in her uniquely generous way, wrapped up the event by choosing to reinforce the afternoon’s messages on a note of hope through poetry inspired from the session. One of her two poems is reproduced hereafter.

This initiative set a tone of optimism but shared a roll call for proactive engagement. At times of crisis, not losing track of SDG priorities, understanding how to be better together and organised, gain particular momentum for the planet.

As part of 'Design for Life', this RSA conference offered a convergence of minds aimed at identifying how to better connect to the world and its key priorities. These call for humans to design today a suitable world for those coming in the future, understanding the accessible language of sustainable values, the sense of commitment, and need for individual and community actions for our planet’s regeneration.