At this year’s annual University of Sheffield Sustainability Symposium, we brought together academics, artists and activists from both within and outside the University to discuss the theme of interdisciplinarity and communities of practice. The goal: to inspire attendees to break out of their professional "silos" and encourage co-production and collaboration as a way of expanding your influence and finding solutions that work for everyone.
This concept was introduced by Richard Sulley from the Grantham Centre, whose opening demonstration with a Hoberman sphere served as a metaphor for the interconnectedness and exponential influence generated by collaborative research.
System change or behaviour change
What do you think plays a more important role in climate action - individual behaviours or system change?
This was the first question asked to the audience by the chair of our first panel, Dr Harriet Baird. Using an interactive poll, it was revealed that 70% of the audience believed that system change is more important but individual behaviour still plays a role.
This led to a thought-provoking discussion about how we can create system change and the role of the individual. Our three speakers, Dr Stephen Allen, Dr Joshua Forstenzer and Professor Thomas Webb, explored the value and limits of individual action. While recognising the urgent and vital need for large-scale institutional reform, the panel did agree that small individual actions are still important - they provide a sense of agency and an empowering feeling of being part of the solution.
One of the key questions discussed was how to motivate the unmotivated? The ethical challenge of whether to deploy the "dark arts" or forms of coercion which opponents of climate action use was debated. It was suggested that collaboration could be a more powerful tool than coercion.
Championing the Citizen story
The audience was very excited to hear from our keynote speaker, Jon Alexander, author of “Citizens: Why The Key To Fixing Everything Is All Of Us.”
“We all live our lives in stories,” said Jon and he called for us all to redefine our collective capabilities through storytelling. He argued that the current climate crisis is driven by the failing "Consumer" story, which wrongly assumes that pursuing self-interest will in turn lead to what is best for the collective. Instead, he urged the audience to promote a new story - the “Citizen” story - where individuals contribute their energy, ideas, and resources to betterment of society.
He highlighted the g0v movement in Taiwan, as a prime example of the citizen story in action. This collective successfully demonstrated inside parliament against a trade bill and then played a key role in advising the government’s “crowd-sourced” response to covid.
We are at the start of an emergent system, and Jon cited many examples of organisations and individuals who are already driving this system. His call was clear: we need to amplify this system and become champions of the new story.
“The biggest thing an individual can do is become more than an individual.”
Can you drive change with data?
This was the title of our second panel session, or to phrase it another way, has anyone’s mind ever been changed by a graph? For this panel, Professor Isabelle Doucet and Dr Dan Olner were joined by the curator and researcher, Jeanine Griffin, who spoke about the Wild Eye project located on the North Yorkshire coast which is using art and creativity to engage people in conservation.
The consensus from the session was that relying on raw data alone is not enough. The speakers explored projects that creatively translate complex data into an effective, relatable narrative to inspire genuine engagement. This creative approach creates a more powerful emotional connection to encourage people to act.
If you don’t feel uncomfortable, you’re not doing it right
The day ended with an inspiring discussion on the role of activism in research, chaired by Richard Sulley. The panel discussed whether researchers should remain in a “safe” position as impartial observers or if they have an ethical duty to take a stand.
Speakers, including "Renegade Economist" Emma Woods and former lab scientist Abi Perrin, shared powerful personal stories of risking institutional alienation to take action. Emma became disillusioned by the mainstream economic system that has resulted in the destruction of our environment, so stepped away to teach an alternative version - one that is hopeful, regenerative, and based on solidarity and reciprocity.
Abi left the lab and is now working as a communicator and activist, taking a stand with other scientists who can no longer stay silent. According to Abi, the time for scientists as impartial observers has gone and she played a moving video titled “Plan Z - From Lab Coats to Handcuffs” to urge other scientists to speak up.
Artist and writer, Harun Morrison, spoke about the key role art and humanities can play in activism. He suggested that activists should embrace ‘fun and pleasure’ in their environmental campaigns, rather than ‘fear’, to unite communities and motivate people into direct action.
The day was full of fascinating discussions and thoughtful reflections. All our speakers presented with such passion and urgency and the audience went away inspired to collaborate, expand their influence, and take bold action. A big thank you to all our speakers, our co-hosts South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre, our Grantham Scholars for putting on a brilliant research poster exhibition, and the incredible More Than Minutes artists who produced an amazing live drawing at our event. You can view the finished drawing here.