The uniqueness of the Growth in Transition (GiT) conference of 2018 is rooted both in the high-level political support, as well as in being a “top-down” governmental initiative with its outstanding capability to connect actors from different spheres and backgrounds. Different to other similar projects in the field of sustainability policy and research, GiT is a government initiative, supported of the Federal Minister for Sustainability and Tourism, Elisabeth Köstinger. Federal Minister Köstinger did not just call for a continuation of the initiative but even more, for a further intensification in order to set clear signals towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To have a wider socio-economic impact and foster a holistic approach, it was decided to include actors from all different sectors of society. The conference included participants from academia, business, international organisations, media, public administration, NGOs, political decision-making bodies and the broader public. Citizens from nearly all EU member states as well as speakers from outside the continent participated and had the opportunity to network and share their knowledge.
The idea of a holistic transition towards a more sustainable future was reflected in the thematic diversity of parallel sessions and broad range of topics covered by the conference.
The strength of the 2018 GiT conference lies in its capability to connect different actors and topics as well as the outstanding political support it received in this endeavour. Where the GiT initiative goes beyond this state of art is the range and depth of its holistic approach, as well as the high priority level it was able to base its activities. As a result, the conference increased legitimacy and visibility of a sustainable transition, the awareness of the urgency of such a drastic change, the interconnectivity of the relevant actors in this endeavour and the empowerment of the participants. Due to this encompassing approach to an ecological and social transformation, the Growth in Transition initiative can function as a role model for similar initiatives in other countries.
The increased legitimacy and visibility of the much-needed transition to a sustainable future was achieved by the conference through the aforementioned political support and the resources that the Horizon 2020 programme provided. The initiative Growth in Transition became a top priority of the minister herself and together with the newly obtained resources, the initiative gained high visibility both on a national and international level.
Through its increased legitimacy and visibility as well as the increased size of the conference, more people than before were able to be made aware of the urgency of a sustainable transition. With two thirds of the conference’s participants were first-comers, the conference was able to attract new persons.
Another important impact was the empowerment of the participants of the conference, which is reflected in the title of the conference: Europe’s Transformation: Where People matter. Attendees were encouraged to participate in discussions, participatory designed parallel session, artistic activities and a ‘call to action’ was formulated.
