Environmental Humanities Center Amsterdam

Submissions are now open for the Groningen Sustainability Conference 2027 (GSC 2027), taking place on 5-10 April 2027 at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. What have we learned from more than a decade of working with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and what needs to change as we approach 2030? 

The GSC 2027 brings together science and academia, policy and governance, the private sector, and civil society to turn lessons into action: what has worked, what has not, what can accelerate progress towards 2030, and what should guide sustainable development beyond it. The conference takes place in April 2027, five months before the final UN SDG Summit in September, where discussions will turn to future sustainability agendas beyond 2030. GSC 2027 provides a timely platform to contribute ideas, evidence, and partnerships to that wider process, while also helping accelerate action in the remaining years of the SDGs. GSC 2027 comprises five broader themes, each comprising five topics. 

Theme 1: Lessons from the Sustainable Development Goals for sustainable development beyond 2030

Theme 2: Building resilience through integrated sustainable transformation across natural and human systems

Theme 3: Navigating the climate change–development nexus for resilient, just and equitable transformations 

Theme 4: Health, well-being, and societal foundations as key drivers of sustainable development

Theme 5: Artificial Intelligence, big data, and digitalization as enablers for sustainable development

We invite submissions of abstracts and sessions related to these themes. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented contributions, and encourage submissions from outside academia; practitioner experience, implementation accounts, and civil-society perspectives are as valuable here as research findings.

Ways to contribute

Oral presentation: a presentation related to one of the conference themes.

Poster presentation: a poster related to one of the conference themes.

Full panel session proposal: a 90-minute session related to one of the conference themes you convene, built from four to six presentations.

Innovative session proposal: a 90-minute session related to one of the conference themes in an innovative format, e.g., a panel debate, world café, science-policy dialogue, etc. 

Key dates

Abstract submission (deadline): 25^th October 2026

Conference registration (early bird): 12^th December 2026

Conference registration (regular): 18^th January 2027

Registration deadline (Presenters): 7^th March 2027

Registration deadline (Participants): 21^st March 2027

Conference Program

PhD Days: 5^th and 6^th April 2027

Main conference: 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th April 2027

Field tour: 10^th April 2027

See the conference website (https://gsc.beyondsdg.eu/) for more information.
Directly submit your abstract or session proposal via https://www.conftool.org/gsc2027/  

If you have any questions, please contact GSC2027@rug.nl.