RIFS Blog

For over a decade, the project A Mindset for the Anthropocene (AMA) has been a space for collaborative research, personal growth, and community engagement, blending the transformative potential of inner work with the need for societal change. This mission was further deepened at the 2024 AMA Convergence in Potsdam, Germany, titled Societal Transformation as Spiritual Practice.

"Wandel verhandeln" (Negotiating Change) is a German-language podcast about Brandenburg's transformation towards a sustainable and fairer society. In the podcast, we and our colleagues take a closer look at the conflicts that arise in connection with this transformation – but also at the positive impacts and new ideas – and invite changemakers and people in the community to have their say. An episode about Sharing the Financial Benefits of the Energy Transition: The Wind Energy Levy will be released today on several streaming platforms.

Die Gemeinde Uckerland im nördlichen Brandenburg setzt ganz auf erneuerbare Energien und gilt als Region mit Vorbildfunktion. Am 8. Oktober schaute eine Gruppe von Forschenden des RIFS sich diesen “begehbaren Ort der Energiewende” an und tauschte sich mit Vetreter:innen der Gemeinde, der Stadtwerke und der Lokalpolitik aus.

transformation towards a sustainable and fairer society. In the podcast, we and our colleagues take a closer look at the conflicts that arise in connection with this transformation – but also at the positive impacts and new ideas – and invite changemakers and people in the community to have their say. An episode on sustainable mobility will be released today on several streaming platforms.

The Amazonia - Three Moments of Cinematography film programme was shown at the historic Babylon cinema in Berlin through 16–20 September 2024 as part of Amazon Week 2024. We sought, in the light of three films, to bring into sharp relief the images and narratives produced in territories usurped for different colonization projects, and how their populations, nature and modes of existence have been and continue to be brutally violated.

The recent flooding across Central Europe highlights the relentless acceleration of climate change and the resulting hazards for society. Shortly before the flooding, the research project DIRECTED (Disaster Resilience for Extreme Climate Events) hosted a workshop in Vienna on the assessment of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation strategies, together with local partner Genillard & Co.

The EU can provide valuable assistance for Kazakhstan when it comes to developing a hydrogen strategy, from regulatory frameworks to sustainability standards, writes RIFS researcher Yana Zabanova in an article first published on 13 September, 2024, by Carnegie Politika.

The EU’s air quality standards fall short of WHO recommendations, so too do their plans for updating them. More substantial action is needed to provide clean air for the people of Europe. That includes large-scale policies to reduce emissions and shift mobility habits.

Report on a recent conference organised and hosted by RIFS, Kulturlabor Klanglandschaften and the University of Potsdam.

This year, Earth Overshoot Day is on 1 August. On this day, we humans in the world have used up the resources of our planet that would renew themselves within a year.

From 2-4 July, the Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention met for the 28th time in the UN Headquarters in Geneva. The agenda featured critical topics such as access to justice, public participation in international forums, the protection of environmental defenders, compliance cases, capacity-building, and possible topics of future work. However, one cross-cutting issue loomed over the discussions: the significant shortfall in financial contributions to support the growing workload of the Secretariat and Compliance Committee.

The much-coveted title of “European Capital of Culture” isn’t always good news for residents. Surprisingly, winning the title is often associated with a decline in the wellbeing and satisfaction of citizens with city life. Following its successful bid for Capital of Culture status in 2025, Chemnitz is pursuing an approach that focuses on public participation and aims to improve social cohesion and quality of life in addition to boosting the city’s reputation. Students from a joint seminar held at RIFS and Chemnitz University of Technology have analysed the social sustainability of a number of Capital of Culture projects.