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Advocacy for Sustainability Communication: Unseen Potential of Queer Communicators in Environmental, Climate Change and Sustainability Science

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  • Franzisca Weder

    (School of Communication and Arts, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia)

  • Swastika Samanta

    (School of Communication and Arts, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia)

Abstract

The story of climate change, of destruction and loss, is well represented in mass media around natural hazards and new scientific data (i.e., the newest IPCC report); in contrast, new concepts of restoration, eco-cultural identities, social change and sustainable development are not picked up in public discourses—similarly to how the voices of NGO communicators, activists or queer communicators are not heard in the media. Additionally, the growth of digital publishing technologies and related audience behavior not only influence public communication processes, but also challenge professional communicators, including journalists and PR professionals to scientists, artists and activists. With a series of explorative interviews in different cultural settings (Central Europe, Australia, New Zealand), we can show that queer communicators have the potential to cultivate a new understanding of sustainability communication as social conversation about sustainability, and thus, overcome the very visible old story about climate change and rather propagate the new story of sustainability and transformation. The interviews show that queer communicator advocacy focuses on mobilizing and initiating dialectic conversations, which includes community building and queering existing norms, thus choosing new pathways for communication for sustainability. The findings and the developed concept of advocacy for sustainability communication are discussed at the end of the paper, including a reflection on the limitations of the explorative character of the analysis and future research potential.

Suggested Citation

  • Franzisca Weder & Swastika Samanta, 2021. "Advocacy for Sustainability Communication: Unseen Potential of Queer Communicators in Environmental, Climate Change and Sustainability Science," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13871-:d:703168
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Heidi Hendersson & Christine Wamsler, 2020. "New stories for a more conscious, sustainable society: claiming authorship of the climate story," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 345-359, February.
    2. Franzisca Weder & Stella Lemke & Amornpan Tungarat, 2019. "(Re)storying Sustainability: The Use of Story Cubes in Narrative Inquiries to Understand Individual Perceptions of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-15, September.
    3. Jens Newig & Daniel Schulz & Daniel Fischer & Katharina Hetze & Norman Laws & Gesa Lüdecke & Marco Rieckmann, 2013. "Communication Regarding Sustainability: Conceptual Perspectives and Exploration of Societal Subsystems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Charles N. Herrick & Joanna L. Pratt, 2013. "Communication and the Narrative Basis of Sustainability: Observations from the Municipal Water Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(10), pages 1-16, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Valentina Burksiene & Jaroslav Dvorak, 2022. "E-Communication of ENGO’s for Measurable Improvements for Sustainability," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, June.

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