Malmö, Sweden- This year will mark a 10-year anniversary of the International Degrowth Conference for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, with Dialogues in Turbulent Times as the overarching theme. Organised by the Institute for Degrowth Studies in collaboration with multiple partners, the conference will be held 21-25 August 2018 in Folkets Park, Malmö.

Over the past decade, degrowth has emerged as an interdisciplinary research area and a social movement which critiques the centrality of economic growth in contemporary societies and embraces various alternatives for ecological sustainability, social justice and human well-being. To continue the success of the previous International Degrowth Conferences, which have been held biennially since 2008, this year’s conference aims to foster degrowth discussions in the Nordic contexts together with the Middle East, and cover themes such as welfare state, migration, war, technology and money. Malmö has been chosen as this year’s location due to its diverse community and strong presence of alternative forms of organising, as well as a varied cultural and grassroots life.

The 2018 Degrowth Conference will host a range of academic, activist and artistic events which will attract scholars, activists policy-makers and degrowth enthusiasts from all over the world, as well as local community members. During the five days of the conference, four keynote speeches, four plenaries and more than 150 parallel sessions on a plethora of topics will take place, united by the goal to make a sustainable and just future possible. Many of these will be of collaborative and participatory format. On the final day of the conference, a public demonstration titled Malmö for justice will be held in central Malmö, organised together with local groups.

“We are excited to welcome such a wide and international group of people who are interested in degrowth or want to get more familiar with it. We aim to provide an inclusive and stimulating forum for learning and communication and hopefully contribute to the much needed socio-ecological transformation” – says Ekaterina Chertkovskaya, Coordinator of the 6th International Degrowth Conference.

For those who are unable to attend the conference in person, the keynote and plenary sessions will be live-streamed through the Malmö Degrowth Conference website and the recordings will be available online afterwards.
A press conference will be held on 21 August, before the opening of the Degrowth Conference. For registration to attend the Degrowth conference and/or the press conference, please send an email to [email protected].