The launch of the BRIDGES Flagship Hub at Arizona State University’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory on October 18, 2022 brought together over 200 scholars and students to discuss the future of the flagship hub and imagine the projects that will emerge at the intersection of the fields of the humanities and sustainability. Launch events took place over the course of three days and included multiple panels, lectures and interactive workshops that discussed and explored the meaning and context of “humanities-driven sustainability science.”
The BRIDGES Flagship Hub at ASU serves as a model and support for the other BRIDGES Hubs globally. Each of the five sister Hubs will be engaging in interdisciplinary work as they plan scalable, humanities-led solutions and projects that help meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Flagship Launch events introduced the global coalition, but also focused on how the hub at ASU will support and build capacity for existing projects and programs within the university. Organizations such as ASU’s Environmental Humanities Initiative, the Regional Centers of Expertise (RCEs) on Education for Sustainable Development, the Humanities Lab, the Indigenous Knowledges Focal Area, and ESSA: Earth Systems Science for the Anthropocene were highly involved in the events. Through the interactive workshops and panels, these ASU organizations were able to voice their support for the BRIDGES Flagship Hub and explore the potential collaborations that can emerge from having the BRIDGES Flagship Hub located at ASU.
The BRIDGES Flagship Hub will function within ASU as an organization that helps existing programs at ASU achieve their global goals as it also builds capacity among its sister hubs to meet the UN’s SDGs. The Flagship Hub will connect individuals and organizations who share common goals and values as they seek to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.