In keeping with the institute’s mission of sustainable development, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong inaugurated its ninth edition of the three-day International Conference on Sustainability, also known as SUSCON IX today on November 3, 2022. The conference is being held in hybrid mode with participants from all around the world attending online and from within the campus.

To advance a holistic developmental paradigm, the theme of SUSCON this year is “Collaboration, Compassion and Co-Creation”. The goal of SUSCON is: “to bring together the brightest minds working on sustainability from across the world.”

Participants in the event will engage with some of the conference’s renowned speakers. They will actively engage in contemporary concerns while using a variety of viewpoints to explore fresh interpretations, applications, and evaluations of sustainability. They will also have the chance to actively support sustainability in and beyond their immediate contexts.

Prof. DP Goyal, Director IIM Shillong in his welcome address mentioned that the conference will provide a platform for deliberations on sustainability as a form of celebration of the country’s progress.

Chief Guest Padma Bhushan Dr. Mrityunjay Athreya Globally renowned Management Thinker, Educator and Consultant attended the conference online as did Guest of Honour Dasho Karma Ura, President of the Centre for Bhutan Studies and Gross National Happiness Research (Thimphu, Bhutan). Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Indian conservation biologist and Founder and CEO of Aaranyak, Special Guest, was present at IIM Shillong. The event was formally inaugurated with the lighting of the lamp by all the present dignitaries.

Dr. Athreya, in his address, spoke on the topic ‘Our Shared Global Sustainability Dharma’ and shared his insights through a Powerpoint Presentation. Speaking about the need to combat the global crisis of climate change, he suggested two feasible solutions, namely Climate Compensatory Funding and Green Technology which can be adopted by various countries for a sustainable future. He stressed the need for the world to come together as one, as solving the problem of climate change is not a national or regional but a global issue. 

The Guest of Honour Dasho Karma Ura, President, Centre for Bhutan Studies & GNH Research Bhutan, provide a different perspective on sustainability by combining it with Buddhism and spoke in detail about this relationship while referring to happiness in general.

Dr. Talukdar speaking from his experience of wildlife management stressed the need to plan developmental activities in a manner that is less hazardous to the environment, which in turn can solve many local and global environmental issues.

Prof. Sanjoy Mukherjee, IIM Shillong faculty and Chairperson of SUSCON in his speech said that SUSCON is a movement and a commitment to the cause and spirit of sustainability. Prof. Sanjeeb Kakoty mentioned that SUSCON is a platform where people from different specializations come to find solutions to various environmental problems.

The inaugural session was followed by a paper presentation session which witnessed the presence of keynote speakers like Prof. Tan Sri Dzulfikli Abdul Razak, Rector, International Islamic University, Malaysia, Prof. Laszlo Zsolnai, President – European SPES Institute Professor and Head, Business Ethics Center, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary and Prof. Ove Daniel Jacobsen Professor of Ecological Economics Business School Nord University, Bodo, Norway. The three-day conference in the next 3 days will witness a series of technical sessions and paper presentations circling the theme of sustainability. The conference is being held with the support of conference partners GAIL (India) Limited and the State Bank of India (SBI). The Knowledge Partners for the event are The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), European SPES (Spirituality and Ethics in Society and Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH (Gross National Happiness) Research and the Publication Partner is Springer Nature.

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