Funding Calls, Conferences and other Activities

Communicating Sustainabilities relies on cooperation, discussion and sharing of ideas. You can find more about forthcoming seminars, conferences and activities below.

 

Languaging Crises Conference, Helsinki, March 2026, Call for Papers, Deadline 31/10/25

Conference

Helsinki, Finland

Date: 4/03/2026 - 5/03/2026
Call for papers ending on: 31/10/2025

In a world characterised by the presence of multiple, simultaneous and
overlapping crises, language and communication have an increasingly important
role. For example, in the context of large-scale, societal crises, effective
communication during and about a crisis keeps people calm and informed by
carefully controlling the flow of information, and by providing guidelines
and directions that are understood and accepted by all segments of the
populace.  Similarly, during organisational, political or personal crises of
reputation, language use becomes an essential tool for minimising and
mitigating the effects of the crisis. The different parties involved in the
crisis communicate their own interpretations of the situation, while also
interacting with other affected parties.

The Languaging Crises conference focuses on the ways in which language is
used and abused in crisis situations or the ways in which various crises are
dealt with in different texts. In particular, more research is needed on how
the language used during small- and large-scale crises is targeted at, and
received by, different demographic subsets within heterogeneous societies,
and whether effective communication requires a messaging strategy that takes
those subsets into account in different ways. 

The presentation proposals can approach communication and language use during
crises from various perspectives, ranging from linguistics and language
studies to discourse analysis, communication and social studies. They can
also deal with both diachronic and synchronic communication about global and
local crises and examine texts by public figures, the media, organisations or
individuals. The crises investigated may include, but are not limited to, the
following:

health crises, accidents and traumaswars, conflicts and violencenatural
disasters and environmental criseseconomic/financial/political
crisesorganisational crises and reputation crisesinter/personal crises and
life changeshateful and impolite situations
The confirmed keynote speakers are Tony McEnery (Lancaster University), Merja
Koskela (University of Vaasa), Dario Del Fante (University of Ferrara), Heini
Hakosalo (University of Oulu).
 

The language of the conference is English.

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NERC Funding call: Artificial intelligence (AI) for environmental science phase one. Closing date 11/12/25

Apply for funding to use artificial intelligence (AI) and data science in new ways to address complex environmental challenges. We’re seeking bold, innovative ideas with the potential to shape the future of environmental science.

You must be:

  • based at a UK research organisation eligible for Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funding
  • in a role that meets the individual eligibility requirements

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be between £200,000 and £400,000. We will fund 80% of the FEC.

Closing date: 11 December 2025 4:00pm UK time

Projects must start on 1 July 2026 and last for eighteen months. This is the first of a two-phased programme.

 

 

https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/artificial-intelligence-ai-for-environmental-science-phase-one/

Call for Papers - Symposium "Universities as Change Agents in Sustainable Development", Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia, 18th-19th March 2026

Call for Papers - Symposium "Universities as Change Agents in Sustainable Development", Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia, 18th-19th March 2026

The global pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demands transformative action across all sectors of society. Universities, as hubs of knowledge creation, critical thinking, and future leadership, hold a unique and powerful position. They are not merely institutions of education but are ecosystems capable of driving sustainability through research, teaching, operations, and community engagement.

The Symposium "Universities as Change Agents in Sustainable Development" is based on the belief that the academic sector needs to move beyond siloed initiatives and theoretical discourse to become integrated, proactive, and measurable change agents. The event will serve as a platform for forging new partnerships, and co-creating actionable strategies that leverage the full potential of universities to address the most pressing ecological, social, and economic challenges of our time.
How to participate:
 
There are two possibilities for attending the symposium:
1. By only attending the symposium (without a presentation): please register on the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/mgjL6ZVMZG 
2. By delivering an oral or poster presentation: Researchers may submit any complete, original, and unpublished research papers, either conceptual or empirical. To participate, participants need to submit an abstract of 200 to 300 words, along with the authors' names and full contact details, before 15th December 2025. Abstracts should be submitted by using the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/R6r96YnNQY 
For those who submitted an abstract: The authors will receive an email with the registration and payment details. In case you already want to proceed with it, please register here: https://forms.office.com/e/mgjL6ZVMZG 
Deadlines
  • Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15th December 2025
  • Deadline for registrations: 1st February 2026
  • Deadline for full papers: 30th April 2026
 
Publication Opportunity
Papers accepted for the event and presented during it may be submitted as chapters to the book Universities as Change Agents in Sustainable Development, to be published by Springer Nature within the World Sustainability Series, a leading peer reviewed series on sustainability in higher education: https://www.springer.com/series/13384 
Submission is optional, it is a suggestion rather than a requirement. Detailed instructions for chapter preparation will be shared with authors whose abstracts are accepted. Each author will receive a complimentary PDF of their chapter and of the complete book
 
About the Organisers 
The Symposium is organised by the Research and Transfer Centre "Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management" at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany, The Cluster on Adaptation and Mitigation of Environmental Change KEKO and the ERA Chair project on Sustainable Futures (SustainERA) at Tallinn University and the Baltic University Programme.

Further details
 
 
If you have any questions, or need further details, please contact the organising committee at FTZ-NK-Events@haw-hamburg.de 

ALED-DN2026 - Discursive panoramas: voices, perspectives, challenges in societies of global crisis (Conference). Registration deadline 31/5/25

This congress aims at bringing together research and reflections that critically analyze discourses that emerge, circulate, and transform in contexts of global crises. Through interdisciplinary approaches, it seeks to explore how different voices—whether institutional, media, academic, artistic, or community-based—shape meanings, construct realities, and dispute narratives about the challenges faced by contemporary societies. The event proposes a space to make diverse perspectives visible, including those traditionally silenced, in order to understand the discursive dynamics that accompany processes of conflict, resistance, exclusion, or social transformation in a world marked by uncertainty and change.

 

https://discourseanalysis.net/en/ALED-DN2026?language=en