Melting pot: The new sustainability in a world of emerging pandemics

Abstract

The need to be more sustainable has become a challenge for some decades now. It seems we are reaching the moment when action cannot be postponed. Humanity, and young people, are keen to take action. Being pessimistic about tomorrow can only represent a waste of time that we, as humanity, cannot afford. This chapter reports a critical reflection of the new normal, through visions from different ages, aiming towards collecting future sustainable narratives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a group of 49 people, ages 17–56 years old, to hear their voices and gather their views while looking into the future in an emergency pandemic scenario, which offered, beyond everything, opportunity to reflection. Results show that most of the interviewees has suspended their vision and were forced to reflect on their roles on society, what they valued and wish, mentioning that with the pandemic, the future shrunk giving room for more short-range expectations. All of them considered this a rich learning period, despite the uncertainty and doubts, and revealed positive expectations, particularly the youngsters. Respondents believe that lessons learned acquired during this unprecedented time can be used, to redefine the concept of sustainability, changing the course of society, turning it in a new and more interconnected – solidary, peaceful, equitable, assuring time to be happy – world. This chapter reports a critical reflection of the new normal, through visions from different ages aiming towards future sustainable narratives.