[MUSIC] Hi, my name is Eva Heiskanen and I'm going to talk about why people need to be part of the solution. We need deeper changes in our lifestyles, and I will show you how individuals can take leadership of this change if they have room to be innovative. Sustainable solutions like wind turbines, they meet with a lot of resistance if they are just dropped into people's lives. People need to discover sustainable solutions for themselves. Otherwise, people are not likely to accept templates for sustainable lifestyle. Also, generic templates are not likely to work in the very different environments and life circumstances in which people live. Experts can devise new technologies and solutions, but they still need to be tailored to local context and diverse needs. So, we need to harness people's own inventiveness. People have an innate need to feel competent and 'in charge'. Serious environmental problems like climate change threaten this feeling of competence. If people feel capable of making a difference and a valuable contribution with the skills they have, they are more likely to want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. I'm going to give you a few examples of how individuals can show leadership that makes a difference on a large scale. Citizens can be innovators who invent new solutions, like the 19-year-old Boyan Slat who invented a way to clean up the plastic trash rotating in currents around the world's seas. Citizens can be equally inventive in figuring out new and more sustainable ways to heat their homes. People convert old oil burners into wood pellet burners. They invent ways to improve heat pumps. And they figure out ways to combine several more sustainable heating systems into hybrid systems for their homes. Nowadays, these inventive citizens can also get help and support from online communities. Some of the inventions are spread commercially via companies. Others are spread by a local or online communities. And some of these inventions are now so established that they have become part of local folklore. For example, in the north people shovel snow over the foundation of their house, which serves as insulation against the colds. And composting of food waste is widespread in the Nordic countries. Today, it is organized by local governments, but the local governments learned it from the good example set by activist citizen groups in the 1970s and 80s. So, if you're interested in finding ways to promote more sustainable lifestyles and solutions globally, have a look at what people around you are doing and what you could incorporate into your own life. Citizens can also join forces to learn about and acquire more sustainable solutions. For example, group purchasing of solar panels is rapidly spreading. It started in Finland where there is little support and no government subsidies for solar panels. The first group was set up by a pioneering citizen who used the internet to find other people who wanted to participate. As a group, it is easier for people to get a more comprehensive understanding about which solar panels are available and at what cost in order to get a good deal. A group can organize information events. They can collect tenders from companies. They can help each other through the process of purchasing and installing the solar panels. Since then, many citizen groups like this have popped up. Citizens can also teach each other. Examples from peers are often more relevant to ordinary people than expert advice, which can be confusing and even contradictory at times. In our research, we have tested and studied an approach called open homes, which originated in the UK. We asked people who, for example, installed a new heating system or made some other improvement in their homes to open their doors to their neighbors. And the neighbors coming to these events can ask about practicalities like, how much did it cost? Was it difficult to obtain and install? Or was there a lot of disruption? Or how did you fit the new heating system into your life? For example, was it hard to adapt your daily pattern to firing up a wood boiler three to four evenings a week? We have now organized several tours like this of heating systems and solar panel installations in different localities. And the participants have now decided to organize a composter tour to learn about user experiences with different types of composters in different situations. For example, lifestyles where you spend a lot of time at home versus lifestyles where people are away for long periods of time. Good examples can also be shared online. One example of this is the website greenapes.com. It is a social media platform where you can share the small green actions you take every day and gain rewards for them in a game-like environment. These examples show that people, ordinary citizens, can very much be part of the solution. And they can feel proud of themselves if good, locally relevant solutions and lifestyle choices are made visible. It is not only the deep green, the educated, and the young who can take the initiative and serve as examples. Many people have competencies that can be useful for more sustainable lifestyles. For example, an urban gardening association is now recruiting urban gardening veterans to host novices who would like to learn about gardening. The novices help out with the heavier jobs, and at the same time, learn how to grow their own vegetables. And who better to learn from than people with practical experience in your own neighborhood? Individuals can serve as examples and become leaders, but they need to find ways to multiply their good examples and get others to join the gang. This is where the public sector and NGOs can help by making good examples visible and replicable. People need to see that others are joining in and pulling their own weight, otherwise they can get frustrated. Over time, individuals as leaders need to team up with others in order to build up political power to change the context and make it more supportive. One example of this is the global Transition Initiative network. Here, people can gain resources, peer support, and good ideas for how to partner with local authorities in order to make their own town or village more sustainable. [MUSIC]
