Applications are now open for speakers in Popcorn Sessions at the Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2020 (SRI2020).

Submit an abstract by February 16, 2020 for the opportunity to deliver a short 7-minute talk presenting your research or work during a Popcorn Session at SRI2020.

These dynamic sessions are designed to bring people together to learn about the latest and most compelling advances in sustainability in a particular discipline, theme and/or geography.

“Popcorn Sessions are made up of eight short presentations by different speakers on the same topic. The idea is that they collectively show different ways of approaching a sustainability challenge,” explains Makyba Charles-Ayinde, co-chair of the SRI2020 Program Committee. “We’re looking for speakers who can present cutting edge, high-quality work that is solution oriented.”

SRI2020 is the world’s first transdisciplinary gathering in sustainability – it will be a space of fierce advocacy for sustainability scholarship and innovation, collaboration and action. The Congress, which will take place from June 14-17 in Brisbane, Australia, is a unique opportunity to connect with the global sustainability community, learn about the latest sustainability science, create novel networks and partnerships, explore new ideas, gain visibility, inspire and be inspired.

Popcorn Sessions are being held on a variety of topics addressing some of the most important challenges and areas of research within sustainability science. Running for 90 minutes, each session features 8 speakers who will each present 20 slides for 20 seconds per slide. The sessions are divided into two rounds of four talks. After each round, the four speakers move to the corners of the room, and the audience engages in discussion with one or more speakers of their choice for 14 minutes. This interactive format offers an opportunity for both knowledge sharing and learning and for participants across disciplines to interact and connect.

Speaker abstracts will be assessed based on academic and/or intellectual merit, its relevance to the chosen Popcorn Session topics, its link with any of the SRI2020 even themes and the novelty and creativity of the approaches and solutions proposed in the talk.

Popcorn Session topics
Speakers should apply to present within one of the following Popcorn Sessions:

• Developing an industrial ecology marketplace for plastic waste
• Past global changes as indicators for future changes and strategies for sustainability
• Transformations to Sustainability through Transformations in Air Travel – Perspectives from Science
• Advances in Earth Observation for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Monitoring
• Integrativity in complexity: knowledge co-creation at the food-water-energy nexus
• The role of biodiversity for transformative change towards sustainable development
• Sustainability, the Asian Way (or Sustainable Transformations, Can Asia Lead the Way?)
• Critical social-science perspectives on transformations to sustainability – emerging framings and approaches
• North-South Participation Through Engaging Communities for implantation of Sustainable Development Goals Harnessing Science, Research and Innovation

Applications close February 16, 2020.

For more details and to apply, visit the SRI2020 website.