Global Challenges
Asynchronous Session
How Can Cultural Management Companies Survive? The Digitization of Culture as a Driver of Sustainable Heritage: Analysis of the Business and Sustainable Dynamics in the Cultural Sector View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session María Fragoso Mora
Cultural management generates multiple dynamics of sustainable development. Firstly, a cultural management company seeks the dynamization and visibility of the heritage it communicates; secondly, it tries to mitigate the effects of a voracious industrialization and to make room for cultural expressions in society. However, in this paper the main hypothesis is that a cultural management company should establish a business model based on commercial, environmental and, of course, heritage and creative industries sustainability. In the present research, an inquiry is made of the literature on the subject of cultural management related to sustainability and its business characteristics to carry out these sustainable tactics. For this purpose, interviews to specialists and surveys to entrepreneurs in charge of cultural management companies were carried out in order to know the most optimal strategies in terms of sustainability in a company of this type.
SDG17 - Is a Local Approach Effective in Tackling Global Problems? : A Marine Conservation Case Study Example View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elena Bulmer
According to the UN 2030 Agenda Accelerator, a holistic and aligned approach is necessary to help the development of partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 17 stresses that global efforts are needed, as well as partnerships between a whole range of different organizations such as governmental entities (regional and national), businesses, universities, NGOs, etc. It might, to some extent, be coherent to argue that local solutions are more effective in tackling global problems especially when one considers that many of the international goals and targets like the SDGs themselves are voluntary and nations are not obliged to adhere to them. There are specific contexts however, where working at the local level might be very difficult or even impossible and one of these is marine conservation. The marine environment presents an ecosystemic context that has no boundaries, and therefore needs to be tackled internationally. What happens for example in the Indian Ocean may eventually affect the Mediterranean Sea. The study deals with a marine conservation project located in the waters around Normandy, France. In this respect, the project context is not local but international. Many different stakeholders have interests in the outcome of the project, some of them international, which makes working only locally difficult. In this respect working globally is recommended to better address a marine conservation problem that might initially seem local.
Greening Ramadan: The Islamic Environmentalism of Green Muslims View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Avalon Jade Theisen
Ramadan has been a pillar of Islam since the religion’s founding and has been practiced through a month-long series of rituals involving praying and fasting. In light of current environmental crises, many believers of various faiths have created environmental non-profits with a religious message. One such non-governmental organization is Green Muslims, which, among other projects, has created programs to make Ramadan rituals more sustainable. I examine both emic and etic analyses of Ramadan and efforts to green these calendrical rituals. Specifically, I examine the various resources Green Muslims provide to green Ramadan, as well as scholarly sources of Islamic environmentalism and the history of Ramadan. I show how Muslims adapt Islamic ritual to address the significant current societal issue of widespread environmental crises by analyzing the case study of Green Muslims’ Ramadan related programs.
Assessment of Third-level Digital Inequality in Russia View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Olga Chereshnia
In the current phase of technological development, society is facing a new challenge – digital inequality. While, until recently, it was considered that providing equal access to digital technologies and services would solve it, today we realize that this is not enough. The inequality no longer remains in binary terms (i.e. the availability vs lack of access), but it persists in the opportunities to use technology related to other factors, such as education or age, and even in the extent to which this use is effective. There are currently three levels of digital inequality. In this study, the authors describe them in detail and justify the relevance of the problem of quantifying third-level digital inequality. The authors developed a methodology to assess it by analyzing the popularity of Google search queries relating to different topics, which can be markers of Internet efficiency. This paper presents a pilot test of the methodology the examples from the Russian regions. The analysis and mapping of the data obtained with Google Trends allowed us to identify the territorial features of digital inequality at the level of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
A Socially Sustainable Design Framework for the Coptic Orthodox Church Architecture Enhancement in Egypt View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mirna Farag, Yasser Sakr, Eman Faiez Maher
Designing cities and public buildings became one of the vital challenges in pursuing social, economic, and environmental sustainability of this century. Though, most of the practitioners lack the perception of socially sustainable concepts through design methods. Consequently, few practical resources directly address the question of how to design socially sustainable places?! Religious buildings being one of the necessary social institutions play a critical role in developing the community. The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt is known for serving its community’s wide range through numerous activities that engage communities together at local, national, and international levels. Lately, Coptic Churches appeared with architectural deformities due to social expansion requirements and the lack of socially sustainable design parameters. The study aims to enhance the Coptic Churches’ architecture which certainly influences the community as well preserving its symbolic & spiritual value. The methodology was based on a theoretical study that included the description of a socially sustainable design framework that maintains four main aspects which are the amenities and social infrastructure, social-cultural life, voice and influence, and a space to grow. Subsequently, a practical study through a descriptive analysis of current miscellaneous churches seeking the detection of social design ignorance hazards and also by studying the compatibility of those observations with previously mentioned social sustainable design attributes. The research ends with concluding a precise design framework allied with social sustainability for Coptic Churches. Furthermore, a list of recommendations is to be reflected by different authorities towards enhancing the Coptic Orthodox Church architecture in Egypt.
