Based on the inspiring outcomes of the first Artem OCC conference, which have been documented in a special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production we would like to continue the discussion on how sustainable development can be facilitated and fostered by the creativity of individuals, groups and organizations.
Past and present researches on creativity and sustainability have demonstrated that it is not restricted to some particular fields and could be approached from cross-disciplinary perspectives. A variety of models have been developed to address comprehensive views on creativity (e.g. Amabile, 1988; Sternberg and Lubart,1991; Woodman et al., 1993; Amabile and Kramer, 2011; Sonnenschein, 2014). These models put forward processes of exploring the realm of creativity, explain how creativity could be improved through techniques, explore and discuss the relationship between creativity and other disciplines and mainly the importance of creativity in different contexts. Sustainability demands have recently been addressed from a creativity perspective (e.g.: Cucuzzella, 2016; Przychodzen et al., 2016; Schulz et al., 2016). Literature, music, and fine-arts have been articulated with management and technological tools and instruments to address the organisational demands emerging from financial, social and ecological constraints.
The Artem Organizational Creativity and Sustainability International Conference is in line with this reflection. It seeks to rethink new paths related to how creativity can move people, organizations and societies towards sustainability in various fields. The objective of this international conference is to create a discursive space among academics, professionals and doctoral students in areas such as engineering, arts, sociology, education and management to tackle the relation between sustainable development and creativity in its different dimensions.
The recent financial crises, the on-going process of global shift towards new economic powers, the perception of an impending environmental crisis, different war situations with subsequent refugee streams, the lack of education resulting in a lack of worklife perspectives, the continuous emergence of newer technologies at exponential pace, all are just some examples of the challenges people, organizations and societies have to overcome if they want to keep pace with an increasingly complex and demanding context of work and life. It is fundamental that people, organizations and societies learn how to conserve and responsibly utilize social, financial and natural resources. Creative eco-efficiencies, social and organizational innovations will allow them to cope with the risks and challenges of work-life, the markets, and the demands of the environment. Regardless of the sector and branch, individuals, organizations, communities and societies must invest in approaches originating in education, participatory action research, innovation processes and management or design in order to cope with the challenge of sustainable development in a creative way.
We intend to further these approaches during the conference. To discuss these issues from a comprehensive perspective including inter-and transdisciplinary views, the conference is organized in different tracks, each one offering a dedicated perspective on sustainable development and creativity. Each track is convened by an international group of experts in the field.
We are now welcoming contributions dedicated to the various sub-themes. According to the general intention of the conference to provide inter- and transdisciplinary encounters among experts, contributions may apart from traditional paper presentation to comprise discussion forums, case studies, artistic and playful interventions or practical demonstrations.
