Beyond 2030: Paths to a Sustainable Future
13.02.2025
The 11th Potsdam Summer School (PSS25) will explore the prospects for sustainable development beyond the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development from 15-19 September 2025 in Potsdam. At the heart of this blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and planet are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs. The Agenda reflects the understanding that efforts to eradicate poverty and other deprivations must go hand in hand with strategies to improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – while tackling climate change and working to preserve our environment.
The 2025 edition of the Potsdam Summer School will take a transdisciplinary and interactive approach to envision the future of sustainable development beyond the 2030 Agenda and across all three dimensions of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental. With climate change, resource scarcity, habitat destruction and environmental pollution driving poverty, exacerbating geopolitical conflicts, and compelling people to migrate, efforts must be grounded in joint action across diverse fields and involving individuals, communities, companies, governments, and the scientific community.
The PSS25 will address three overarching topics:
💻 Digitalisation & Sustainability
Since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, the pace of digital transformation has continued to accelerate. AI has begun to permeate all areas of life. What does this mean for the goal of sustainability? Does digitalisation promote or hinder sustainable development?
🫀 One Health
The One Health approach aims to harness cross-disciplinary collaboration at the local, national and global levels to attain optimal health outcomes for humans, animals, and our environment. The growing global population is driving increasing demand for high-quality food of both animal and plant origin. What role does agriculture play in this comprehensive approach?
🦐 Human Dependency on Healthy and Productive Oceans
The oceans play a vital role as sources of food, regulate the global climate, support diverse ecosystems, and provide cultural inspiration and recreational opportunities. However, they face immense threats as human activities and pressures continue to push the boundaries of sustainability.
PSS25 will bring together talented young scientists and young professionals from the private sector, government agencies and non-governmental organisations from all over the world to address issues of future sustainable development in discussions, workshops, and interactive group formats. Participants will be given the tools they need to master the challenges they face in their daily work – including science communication and more.
🕛 Deadline for applications: Wednesday, 30 April 2025, 23:59 UTC
In partnership with the City of Potsdam. Jointly organised by the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, Alfred Wegener Institute – Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), RIFS Research Institute for Sustainability | at the GFZ & the University of Potsdam.
