DSIS Senior Research Fellow Dr Ian Hughes has joined the Management Committee for the COST Action ‘Child Voices: Participation, Well-being & Resilience of Children in the Era of Polycrisis (CHILDVOICES)’.

UCC hosted a Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Ireland event which examined the interconnections between climate change, human mobility, sustainable development, and human rights through the framework of the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

It featured opening remarks by Irish Minister of State Neale Richmond and a keynote by former Irish Ambassador David Donoghue, who chaired key UN negotiations in these fields.

Professor Ed Byrne delivered a keynote on Friday, 11 September 2026 at the UNIC International Scientific Conference on 'Sustainable Development and Other Paradigms and Concepts in the Context of Contemporary Civilizational Trends - Global and Local Dimensions' held at University of Łódz.

The Earth System Governance (ESG) conference took place in Bath UK from Sept 07-11 2026. ESG is the world's largest research community working at the interface between sustainability and governance. Our DSIS researchers Prof Maggie O'Neill and Dr Ian Hughes presented on Deep Societal Innovation and Human Flourishing.

DSIS researchers Professor Edmond Byrne and Dr Ian Hughes attended the International Sustainability Transitions Conference which was held in Zurich from August 31 to September 2, 2026. The conference theme ‘Hope – in challenging times’ explored in practical terms how researchers’ individual and collective work can cultivate environmental sustainability and social justice – even in times marked by armed conflicts, political polarization and mounting planetary crises. 

On June 02 and 03, the DSIS project hosted a two-day workshop on 'Dynamics of Transformation: Multi Societal System Transformation to Address the Polycrisis' at University College Cork.

The DSIS Project team is delighted to welcome members of the DSIS Advisory Group and other experts to University College Cork to discuss the ‘Dynamics of Transformation: Multi Societal System Transformation to Address the Polycrisis’ on June 2-3, 2026. The outcome of the workshop will be a Declaration on Deep Societal Transformation in a Time of Polycrisis. For more information see the programme: DSIS Workshop Dynamics of Transformation June 2026

DSIS PhD student Bob Grumiau and Prof Kelly Salchow MacArthur hosted a collaging workshop titled "Inhabiting Landscapes Meaningfully and Sensually" in the Sustainable Futures Lab, UCC this week. 

Join our Collaging Workshop "Inhabiting Landscapes - Meaningfully and Sensually" on April 23rd, 2026 from 09.00 - 12.00, followed by a light lunch. The workshop will be led by DSIS doctoral student Bob Grumiau and Kelly Salchow MacArthur, Professor of Graphic Design at Michigan State University, and an Honorary Visiting Researcher at the School of Education, UCC. 

DSIS researcher Dr Ian Hughes was invited by the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre to attend an expert workshop on “Evaluating transformative innovation policies: Emerging practices and challenges in monitoring, evaluation and policy learning for transformative goals” in Seville on March 12.

The International Conference on World Philosophies, Meaning and Transformation was held October 30-31, 2025 at the University of Groningen – Campus Fryslân in the Netherlands. 

It explored how global philosophical traditions address meaning, ethics, and transformation in the context of modern global challenges. Dr Ian Hughes made a presentation on behalf of DSIS entitled ‘Live Not by Lies – Transformation to Human Flourishing as Transformation to Authenticity’.

The conference was also shown a short video by twice former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese who spoke of the interconnectedness of the Japanese concept of 'Inochi' with the DSIS work on the 'Sacred Ordinary'.