Transformative Participation for Socio-Ecological Sustainability

We, as humans, are currently facing urgent socio-ecological challenges
(climate change, demographic increase, booming inequalities, etc.). These
challenges are reinforced by systems of financial control at the international
level, super-extractive strategies on natural resources, lack of effective
democracy, surge of conflicts and wars, etc. This book is based on the
assumption that these challenges cannot be faced without the enhanced
participation of all stakeholders—from citizens to policy-makers—in the
decisions that affect our social-ecological systems. This means that
stakeholders must no longer simply be informed, but acquire the capacities to
decide, act and adapt autonomously. In this sense, participation must be
transformative. This book argues that this transformation needs to be
accompanied by approaches, methods and concrete feedbacks. Therefore, this
book aims to give an account of a diversity of practices and methods used to
involve the various stakeholders, including the public, in transformative
decision-making towards socio-ecological sustainability. It answers questions
such as: How to engineer a participatory process? How can facilitators acquire
the skills needed to facilitate such a process? How can role-playing games
support decision and change? How to design territorial development plans with
thousands of citizens? What digital platform can be designed to support
participatory policy making? How can the impact of a participatory process be
monitored and evaluated? What is the role of experts in these processes?