Themes

Themes of Engagement

Universities are no longer considered 'ivory towers' or 'gated communities' instead they are dynamic, vibrant, creative and innovative members of the wider local, national and global community, integral to ecological sustainable development and pivotal contributors to the future of human and societal progress. In this instance sustainable development means 'development that does not undermine the environment, society or the economy, locally or globally, now or in the future, and that delivers genuine progress socially, environmentally and economically' (Sutton 2004)

This is often referred to as the Triple Bottom Line and used for accounting, planning, strategy and outcome based purposes. In his book "The Fourth Pillar of Sustainability: Culture’s essential role in public planning" (2001) Jon Hawkes identifies Culture as the missing element in the planning framework. 'Community well-being is built upon a shared sense of purpose; values inform action, a healthy society depends, first and foremost on open, lively and influential cultural activity amongst the communities within it; sustainability can only be achieved when it becomes an enthusiastically embraced part of our culture.' (Hawkes 2001).

The four main themes for UWS Engagement are:

• Cultural Vitality - wellbeing, creativity, diversity and innovation
• Social Capacity - equity, justice, cohesion, welfare, governance
• Environmental Responsibility - ecological balance
• Economic Viability - material prosperity
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