On April 1st, Speak Up successfully hosted its first webinar, bringing together around 50 participants. The event featured Louise Bonnevier (City of Malmö) and Julia Jokiaho (Stockholm Environment Institute), who introduced their innovative approach to community-based dialogues in Malmö. These dialogues provide a platform for citizens to engage in discussions about the green transition and sustainability.
Missed the live webinar? No worries! You can watch the full recording on our website.
Addressing Consumption-Based Emissions
To achieve Malmö’s climate goals, both the city and its residents must work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly those linked to consumption—the emissions generated from the production of goods we buy and use. One strategy for sustainability is sufficiency, which encourages people to consume less, whether by living in smaller spaces, using less energy, or making more mindful purchasing decisions.
This is where Louise and Julia’s work comes in. Their project explores how Malmö residents perceive sufficiency and how these perspectives vary across different neighborhoods.
The Method: Community-Based Dialogues
People understand their own lives and communities best, making them experts in shaping solutions that work for them. Community-based dialogues take a local approach, engaging citizens based on their connection to specific neighborhoods.
So far, two neighborhoods in Malmö have participated, each taking part in three interactive workshops. These included sustainability walks and utopian sketching, exercises designed to help residents imagine a greener future. The goal of these dialogues is to explore the meaning of sufficiency by asking a key question: What does a good life look like to you?
By encouraging people to rethink consumption habits, these dialogues can help influence policies and strategies that support a fair and sustainable transition.
Key Takeaways from the Discussion
Louise and Julia shared their main insights from the project, highlighting both its strengths and challenges. They recognize that strengths of community based dialogues are its inclusive engagement and small-scale local approach. It was at times challenging to recruit enough participants, and not always easy to get a very diverse group. The difference in willingness to participate also varied across the different neighbourhoods as well. During the Q&A session, participants were particularly interested in how the project recruited citizens and whether this method could be adapted for other cities or countries.
Want to know more?
You can download the full presentation here.