Talk by Prof Lorenzo Fioramonti on the Wellbeing Economy

 

Talk by Prof Lorenzo Fioramonti on the Wellbeing Economy in collaboration with the Changemaker Programme of the Sustainability Institute. Spaces are limited – send your RSVP to vanessa@sustainabilityinstitute.net

 

For the past century, most societies have adopted a narrow definition of economic growth as the route to development. Growth has become an end in itself, as a result of which the true meaning of development has been lost. Rather than an end goal, development should be viewed as a process towards an improved state of existence for humanity and the ecosystems. The concept of wellbeing, with its multidimensional character, is far better suited to describe this improved state. Good, enjoyable and fulfilling lives cannot be achieved through material output alone, indeed such output can easily endanger human well-being, leading to the deterioration of the social relationships and environmental balance upon which wellbeing depends. In this lecture, Lorenzo Fioramonti explores new paradigms of prosperity for the 21st century, covering governance and social innovations in politics, business and civil society to demonstrate that, while the global economy is in crisis, Africa can strategically leapfrog to an approach to development centred on human and ecosystem wellbeing.