For more on this cases of social innovation, see the last publication: "Creative Communities. People inventing sustainable ways of living" in SEP library and full catalogue of cases…

"Creative Communities for Sustainable Lifestyles", the last research project of SEP is enlarging the focus to investigate promising social innovation models in India, China and Brazil. Its aim is to discuss the potentialities of collaborative everyday life creativity in generating and diffusing new and more sustainable ways of living in the urban environments of some emerging countries.

CCSL project is supported by the Swedish Ministry for Sustainable Development in the framework of the Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles within the 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (Marrakech Process) lead by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

CREATIVE COMMUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES
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THE PROJECT

Creative Communities for Sustainable Lifestyles (CCSL) is an on-going research project that deals with creativity and sustainable lifestyles. More precisely, it discusses the potentialities of collaborative everyday life creativity (the creative communities) in generating and diffusing new and more sustainable ways of living in the urban environments of emerging countries (with a focus on Brazil, India and China).

Examples of these creative communities initiatives are: self-managed services for the care of children and the elderly; new forms of exchange and mutual help; alternative mobility systems; socialising initiatives to bring cities to life; networks linking consumers directly with producers, etc. (Annex 1 presents some real cases.
For more examples see on: www.sustainable-everyday.net/cases ).
CCSL seeks to compare some European experiences with ones that can be observed in the growing urban populations of emerging countries. In particular, three major topics are considered: (1) the nature of the groups of people who generate these innovations (the creative communities); (2) their role in promoting new and sustainable lifestyles (the promising cases) and (3) the possibility to make these promising cases more accessible, effective and replicable, thanks to some appropriate initiatives (the enabling system).

The project is part of the Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles, within the United Nations 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, usually called Marrakech Process.

Its total duration is 12 months, and it started in October 2006.

QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES

Considering creative communities in different countries: what are the similarities and differences between them? In particular: what can Europe learn from the emerging countries, and vice versa?

Considering creative communities in emerging countries: do these cases indicate the direction for sustainable lifestyles? In particular: do they indicate sustainable lifestyles for the growing urban population of emerging countries?

Considering creative communities as successful cases of grass roots innovation: how have they been improved and replicated? What kind of specific initiatives have been promoted?

Considering the issues involved in improving and replicating such cases: could the communication and design capabilities that have been applied in some European cases be usefully adopted in the context of emerging countries?

Given these main research questions the CCSL objectives are:

To better understand the previously presented CCSL working hypotheses and topics, verifying their consistency and implications.

To make the cases of creative communities clearer and effectively communicable.

To build a first network of organisations and institutions interested in promoting collaborative creativity for sustainable lifestyles.
These topics will be discussed involving local organisations (NGOs, institutions and associations) in China, India and Brazil.

It should be remembered that the CCSL project is a relatively “light” initiative. If successful, it will have to create the preconditions for a future, more articulated programme of research and action on these same topics.

ACTORS

The Creative Communities for Sustainable Lifestyles (CCSL) project is supported by the Swedish Ministry for Sustainable Development in the framework of the Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles

within the 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, usually called Marrakech Process.

The Marrakech Process is lead by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

CCSL is coordinated by DIS-Indaco Politecnico di Milano in Italy and by Strategic Design Scenarios (SDS), in Belgium, with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) as main partner. In a further stage of the project, local partners will be defined in Brazil, India and China.

BACKGROUND

The 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, usually called Marrakech Process, is a programme led by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). Its aim is to catalyze and guide the transition to a more sustainable global economy.

Within the Marrakech Process, the Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles is an initiative supported by the Swedish Ministry for Sustainable Development. Its specific goal is to develop and implement sustainable policies to change consumer behaviour and to promote more sustainable lifestyles.

In this framework, the Creative Communities for Sustainable Lifestyles (CCSL) project has been established to build on the results of a recently concluded European research called Emerging User Demands for Sustainable Solutions (EMUDE). This research had been funded by the European Commission 6th Framework Programme. Its main aim was to explore the potential of grass roots innovation and pinpoint emerging patterns of sustainable living.

With reference to Europe, EMUDE identified a large number of promising cases and, on this basis, developed a set of conceptual tools to deal with them, to orient policy makers and to define research and design guidelines in order to promote their consolidation and diffusion.

The EMUDE results have been integrated in the Sustainable Everyday Project (SEP): a web platform dedicated to sustainable social innovation in everyday life, with an open database of promising innovation cases. For more of them, see: www.sustainable-everyday.net/cases

François Jégou
www.solutioning-design.net
+32 495 50 24 33 fax 35
Strategic Design Scenarios
rue Dautzenberg, 36-38
BE-1050 Brussels