In great news for the Youth & Sustainable Consumption leadership initiative, IYPF’s partner in this project, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), has won an Australian Research Council (ARC) Grant to conduct more research to underpin the community capacity building project.

For more on the ARC Grants, see the media release for the current round of funding here: www.arc.gov.au/news/media/media_9Nov05.htm.

The official title of the research is ‘Enhancing Capacity for Change: Promoting Leadership in Sustainable Consumption amongst Australian Youth’, with RMIT as the administering institution, and the lead researchers being Prof Fien, Prof Bessant, and Dr Jolliet. The Grant provides AUD175 000 over 2006-2008 to support the research.

Here is an except from the project summary: “Building societal capacity for sustainable consumption is vital if the destructive impacts of current patterns of development and lifestyle choices are to be reversed. Directly relevant to the 'Sustainability' and 'Good Health' (Australian) National Research Priorities, this research will develop the change-agent potential of a significant, high spending consumer class - youth and young adults. The research will result in practical guidelines and program materials for youth organizations to use in capacity building for change leadership. The resultant modelling and encouragement of sustainable consumption through 'purchasing differently' will help stimulate the growth of sustainable products and services in Australia.”

For more on the Youth & Sustainable Consumption research project, see the following URL: www.iypf.org/IYPF-projects.htm#YouthSC.

One of IYPF’s members, Mercy Akongo, has been a participant in a process seeking to operationalise the idea of a ‘society for all’ in to practical activities that support social integration and reduce social exclusion.

The process was initiated in early 2005 by the Division for Social Policy and Development within the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

It takes the notion of a ‘society for all’ outlined in the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration adopted by the World Summit for Social Development, and seeks to provide guidelines and recommendations on how this can be implemented.

An initial background paper was released in April 2005, followed by a workshop in July 2005 on “Towards an Inclusive Society: Shaping the Policy Process” held in New York.

From the July 2005 workshop, a discussion paper has been released by DESA called “Inclusive Policy Processes”. The abstract is below.

Mercy is calling for members of the IYPF community to read and comment on the Discussion Paper, providing their ideas on how to go about aching a society for all.

To download the Discussion Paper, go here.
http://www.iypf.org/Downloads/Inclusive_Policy_Processes_Discussion_paper_November_2005.doc

E-mail your comments on the paper to Mercy Akongo via mercy.akongo@tido.or.ug.

Here is the abstract

Over the centuries, various social and political theorists have grappled with the notion of making societies more inclusive. At the 1995 World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, Governments committed themselves to eliminate social exclusion and foster the creation of a ‘society for all’. Ten years on, numerous individuals remain voiceless and largely excluded from the policy-making process. Community disengagement appears to be growing at a time when the public is frequently disillusioned with governments. Countless forms of exclusion remain, while politicians seemingly struggle to find appropriate measures that could eliminate social exclusion. This paper introduces the notion of inclusive policy processes, whereby Governments proactively seek the views of citizens in their decision-making. It discusses the three functional areas that need to be addressed for its implementation – regulatory framework, participatory methods and monitoring tools – and the benefits to society and policymakers. By ensuring that all members are involved throughout the decision-making process, inclusive policy processes have the potential for positive externalities that could improve social outcomes, help to eliminate social exclusion and be seen as an initial step towards a ‘society for all’.