The network organizes regularly online colloquiums to provide a space where progressive ideas on eco-social policy and sustainable welfare are presented and discussed. Experts in different topics address the key questions and emerging research fields in eco-social policy research. The discussion is focused on how to apply them to practice to solve the ecological, social, and economic crises.
Upcoming event
The 12th Colloquium will take place on Wednesday, 26th March 2025, 14.30-16.00 CET, via Zoom (here the link).
This colloquium will focus on “Local Sustainable Welfare“. In sustainable welfare and eco-social policy discussion, we often explore national and EU policies. However, regional and local initiatives have crucial role in sustainability transformation.
To discuss this topic, we will have the opportunity to hear presentations based on two recently published books:
“Pathways to Sustainable Welfare – Inertia, Emergence and Transformation in Swedish Cities” by Kajsa Emilsson, Martin Fritz, Roger Hildingsson, Håkan Johansson, Jamil Khan and Max Koch published by Policy Press. The authors will present their findings on local government and eco-social integration in Swedish cities.
“Eco-Welfare and the Energy Transition: Themes and Debates for an Emerging Interplay” by Lorenzo De Vidovich published by Springer Nature. The author will share insights on the role of renewable energy communities in the context of the energy transition.
After the speakers’ presentations, there will be time for your questions and comments and for a general discussion.
Past events
1st Colloquium: Open lecture by Ian Gough.
26 October 2022
2nd Colloquium: Research agendas for sustainable welfare and eco-social policy. Key research gaps and questions
13 December 2022
Speakers & Presentations:
Max Koch: Social policy in a climate emergency context. Towards an ecosocial research agenda
William Lamb & Julia Steinberger: Four agendas for research and policy on emissions mitigation and well-being
Benedetta Cotta: Unpacking the eco-social perspective in European policies, politics and polities
Katharina Bohnenberger: Gaps and peeks in the literature on integrating social and environmental policies
3rd Colloquium: Empirical eco-social policies: what is politically at stake?
Speakers & Presentations:
Maria Petmesidou: Framing the ‘just transition’: the European Green Deal and post-pandemic recovery planning
Paolo Graziano: The Politics of EU Eco-Social Policies
Katharina Zimmermann: The social dimension of a ‘green transition’: what comparative welfare state research has to offer
Matteo Mandelli: Harnessing welfare state theories to explain the emergence of eco-social policies
4th Colloquium: The Future of the Sustainable Welfare State
10 May 2023
Speakers & Presentations:
Mary Murphy: Creating an Ecosocial Welfare Future (Bristol University Press, 2023)
Mi Ah Schøyen: Towards Sustainable Welfare States in Europe (Edward Elgar, 2022)
5th Colloquium: Special Issue presentation – Tackling inequality and providing sustainable welfare through eco-social policies” in the European Journal of Social Security
29 November 2023
Speakers & Presentations:
Katharina Bohnenberger: Peaks and gaps in eco-social policy and sustainable welfare: A systematic literature map of the research landscape
Matteo Mandelli: Harnessing welfare state theories to explain the emergence of eco-social policies
Mladen Domazet, Máté Fischer and Alexandra Köves: Doughnuts for Strategies: a tool for an emerging sustainable welfare paradigm
Jayeon Lee and Max Koch: The role of work and social protection systems in social-ecological transformations: Insights from deliberative citizen forums in Sweden
Miklós Antal, Kata Hidasi and Tímea Venczel: Working time reduction: employers’ perspective and implications for social security – ten cases from Hungary
Tuuli Hirvilammi, Juha Peltomaa, Matti Pihlajamaa and Sanna Tiilikainen: Towards an ecowelfare state: enabling factors for transformative eco-social initiatives
Marta Bonetti and Matteo Villa: The conflicts of ecological transition on the ground and the role of eco-social policies: lessons from Italian case studies
Martin Fritz and Dennis Eversberg: Support for eco-social policy from a class perspective: responsibilities, redistribution, regulation and rights
Robin Schulze Waltrup, Madeleine Moore and Tim Paulsen: Eco-Social Policy in the Global Political Economy: Analysing Shifting Discourses of Agricultural Subsidies
Katharina Zimmermann and Vincent Gengnagel: Mapping the Social Dimension of the European Green Deal
6th Colloquium: Eco-social contract
24 January 2024
Speakers and presentations:
Katja Hujo (slides available here)
Oliver Greenfield (slides available here)
Amid entangled climate and social justice challenges, there is a demand to renegotiate our traditional social contract, as called for by the UN Secretary General in his Our Common Agenda Report, and to design a new eco-social contract, as recently suggested by UNRISD (2022, 2023) and the Green Economy Coalition (2023). But how does an eco-social contract differ from the old social contract? What is the novelty and promise of this idea for sustainability transformation? What would an eco-social contract mean in practice?
7th Colloquium: Beyond Growth-dependency – Post-growth alternatives and eco-social policies
27 March 2024
Speakers:
Milena Büchs, University of Leeds
Kristian Kongshøj, Aalborg University
Jefim Vogel, University of Leeds
8th Colloquium: Sustainable Welfare from a Global South perspective: a roundtable discussion
5 June 2024
This colloquium consists of an exchange with experts of topics related to justice and ecology in the Global South. A series of questions about the challenges and opportunities to expand the Sustainable Welfare paradigm beyond its current Eurocentric scope were discussed.
Speakers:
Manisha Anantharaman, Sciences Po Paris
Raya Muttarak, University of Bologna
Belen Olmos Giupponi, Middlesex University
Riya Raphael, Lund University
9th Colloquium: New Voices in Sustainable Welfare and Eco-Social Policy: Perspectives of Early-Career Researchers
2 October 2024
It is dedicated to the presentations of early career researchers who are conducting PhD projects in the field of sustainable welfare and eco-social policy.
Speakers:
Jana Brandl, University of Vienna: “Processes of eco-social policy integration in European urban areas
Jing Ding, Tampere University: “Public support for eco-social labor market policies: adding notions to eco-social citizenship?”
Alessia Greselin, Tampere University: “Toward Universal Basic Services?”
Maurizio Schulz, University of Hamburg: “Regional profiles of eco-social attitudes in Europe”
Wiep Wissema, Radboud University Nijmegen: “Studying local eco-social initiatives”
Clelia Zardini, University of Milan: “Solidal Energy Communities as an Instrument for a Just and Democratic Energy Transition”
10th Colloquium: The Radical Right and Regressive Backlashes to eco-Social Transformations
27 November 2024
This colloquium aims to explore the complex relationship between climate protection and social welfare policies in the face of radical right politics. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, this event will contribute to a deeper understanding of how regressive movements gain traction and how progressive eco-social transformations can be designed to resist backlash and maintain broad societal support.
In this Colloquium, two distinguished speakers shared their insights on this important topic:
Eric Brandstedt, Lund University
Philip Rathgeb, University of Edinburgh
11th Colloquium: The Future of the EU’s Just Transition Agenda
This colloquium is entitled “The Future of the EU’s Just Transition Agenda”.
The discussion has tackled key questions, such as: What progress has been made so far in socializing the European Green Deal? What have been the principal eco-social policy milestones at the EU level in recent years? Which policy developments are likely to emerge in the coming future? What are the main opportunities and obstacles to advancing the Just Transition Agenda in the current political climate? And, crucially, what should researchers focus on to assess and advance this agenda?
Three distinguished speakers, representing EU institutions and civil society, have shared with us their valuable insights on this important topic:
- Frank Siebern-Thomas, Head of the Unit Fair Green and Digital Transitions within the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission.
- Martina Bisello, Expert on Sustainability Transitions and Justice at the European Environment Agency.
- Andrea Casamenti, Just Transition Policy Coordinator at Solidar and Coordinator of the European Alliance for a Just Transition.
Please note that the available recordings of past Colloquia are password-protected and available for members only.