Future Earth, the Belmont Forum, and Future Africa are pleased to announce the invitation to submit session proposals for the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress 2022 (SRI2022).

This call for session proposals is open to groups composed of anyone working in sustainability science and practice, which includes the research sector, government, business, philanthropy, art and civil society. The second edition of the SRI Congress will be held in Pretoria, South Africa, June 20-24, 2022, and online.

Help us shape the program of SRI2022, which will consist of over 100 online and hybrid international sessions and events, highlighting the latest research and innovation in the field of sustainability. The first SRI Congress, SRI2021, held in June 2021, brought together over 700 speakers and more than 2000 participants from 100 countries.

For this call, we accept proposals on the four Congress themes:

• Nexus issues
  Novel perspectives looking at critical intersections in multiple areas including but not restricted to sustainable food systems and human wellbeing; resilience, adaptation and addressing risk; evidence-based and actionable contributions to the SDGs and beyond; narratives of progress, wealth and well-being; water, food, energy, society; resources use efficiency.
• Different ways of knowing
  Recognizing that knowledge is versatile, SRI2022 explores the various ways of understanding, conceptualizing, and learning about the world. An inclusive approach to knowledge will dramatically broaden the spectrum of solutions available for action-forward sustainability work.
• New horizons
  Sustainability is about our relationship with the future, and SRI2022 seeks to explore emerging issues and trends that shape our world tomorrow. In a time of rapid change, looking ahead is more important than ever. What are the challenges and solutions that might surprise us? How can we get ahead of the curve and build our preparedness and resilience? How to predict the unpredictable? Who are the new players and what are the unlikely coalitions? Under this theme, we are particularly open for new if not unexpected ideas.
• African science and innovation (Cross-cutting theme)
  One of the key objectives of SRI2022 is to showcase the richness of African science and innovation in sustainability. From tested local solutions to advanced academic research, the African continent has a wealth of knowledge and innovation to offer to the wider world. In addition, SRI2022 is hoping to strengthen the inter-African dialogue and networks by offering an inclusive platform for increased visibility and collaboration.

We are particularly interested in supporting contributions from young and early career professionals, indigenous groups, and participants from low- and middle-income countries.

Proposals can be submitted in English, French, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. We accept proposals for both online and hybrid sessions. Explore the congress themes, session types, submission guidelines and selection criteria on our website.

Submission deadline is February 18, 2022, at 23:59 SAST (UTC +2).

OTHER WAYS TO ENGAGE IN SRI2022

Become an SRI2022 sponsor. Congress sponsors play a critical role by supporting the costs for both hosting the congress, and participation of innovators and researchers from lower and middle income countries. More information about sponsorship opportunities will be available on the SRI2022 website soon.

Attend SRI2022. Registration will open in January 2022.

Stay connected. Receive SRI updates by following us at @SRICongress on Twitter or Instagram. You can also subscribe to SRI2022 updates through the website and follow the conversation using #SRI2022

SRI2021 SESSIONS OPEN ACCESS UNTIL JANUARY 2022

It is not too late to watch SRI2021 sessions you might have missed. All session recordings of the 2021 Congress are now open access and available on the SRI2021 website until January 2022.