Conference Agenda

Sustainability education plays a crucial role in preparing individuals to cope with urgent environmental, social, and economic challenges today. Understanding sustainability and environmental issues in our society is critical for youth to adapt and respond to their future. This paper explores considerations for sustainability education design that emphasizes two key components: sustainability literacy and community engagement. Sustainability literacy involves developing an understanding of sustainability concepts, practices, and critical thinking skills to develop young people's awareness and action. Community engagement entails strengthening engagement with local communities, organizations, and stakeholders to enhance community involvement and experiences into sustainability education. Designing on interdisciplinary perspectives from education, environmental studies, and community development, this paper suggests a basic idea for incorporating sustainability literacy and community engagement into educational design and approaches. This paper also discusses the role of technology and interaction mechanisms with students in enhancing learning progress on sustainability challenges. The research methodology in this study includes a comprehensive review of existing literature on sustainability education, ecoliteracy, and community engagement and identifies best practices. Qualitative methods, such as participatory workshops and interviews, aim to engage youth as active participants in the research process. Through the integration of sustainability literacy and community engagement into education design, students can respond proactively to climate change contributing to the creation of more resilient and sustainable communities.

In this paper, we address the safety management when organizing a public festival. Large events bringing together thousands of people require organizing multiple parts that will integrate into one, seamless event. Safety is an essential component of social sustainability. As part of a successful event, it is important to proactively address safety-related issues from a visitor's point of view. In our study we will focus on event safety design, and better managing the safety at a music festival. The research was conducted at Varjo festival, organized in Scandinavia in summer 2023, utilizing a service design and user-centric approach. The main purpose was to identify aspects enhancing sense of safety and to generate design implications for event management. The findings are based on field observations and a survey-based user study (n=133) collected in situ. The results emphasize the significance of safety management through visible safety measures, and transparent communication about safety protocols. An inclusive atmosphere and principles of safe space are elements in ensuring responsible and safe experience for everyone. Furthermore, managing safety is a shared responsibility involving visitors. The paper identifies safety factors to create a list of practical design implications for ensuring safer and responsible festivals for visitors.

Research Context: In the contemporary era of over-consumption, customers are often inundated with information, leading to decision paralysis. However, certain brands have successfully become the default choice for their customers by understanding and adapting to evolving customer behavior and lifestyle trends. From 1988 to 2015, consumer-perceived values were primarily anchored on six pivotal factors: social, experiential, functional, financial, emotional, knowledge (Shoemaker & Lewis,1999; Sweeney & Soutar,2001; Schau et al.,2009).

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered significant lifestyle changes, with mental health, safety, and convenience becoming paramount concerns for consumers. Concurrently, there was a rise in sustainable practices among companies responding to a growing preference for eco-friendly businesses among consumers. However, empirical research exploring these dynamic shifts remains limited. While common values have been studied extensively since 1988, personal and contextual influences on customers have not been adequately considered post-2015 (Kim et al.,2020).

Research Method: An empirical study was conducted involving 100 online surveys and 40 focus group interviews patronizing two prominent coffee brands in Hong Kong. Each session spanned 20 minutes and engaged groups of ten participants each to understand trends in evolving customer values. A comprehensive literature review complemented this study, where an analysis of 294 scholarly articles offered relevant insights into the customer-perceived value factors.

Study Insights: Historically, consumer value perception was categorized into financial, functional (quality), and non-functional (perceived value) categories. This paradigm has undergone significant evolution; functional value now encompasses tangible aspects like convenience and brand value, while non-functional value is associated with social and emotional interactions, influenced by privacy, social security, brand image, and self-esteem.

It is also interesting to note that value co-creation as a concept has evolved, impacting the customer’s mind from how the product looks or behaves to the experience and finding meaning in consumption. Understanding value from the consumer perception through price and quality alone is considered narrow.

During the focus group interviews, the participants gave significant importance to the personal aspect while using the product/service: expressing oneself, finding mental space, relating to the brand (“this brand is so me”), and gaining status or ego boost mattered to the participant. Another value that was mentioned consistently during the interviews was that of sustainability: running green initiatives, collaborating with the local artists and influencers, and protecting the environment. For several customers, buying from a sustainable brand felt like contributing to fighting climate change and global warming. These personal and sustainable aspects highlight consumer awareness and co-creation.

Significance and Contribution: This research contributes to the existing knowledge on value co-creation by providing a customer-centric perspective on how value is created and perceived in product-service hybrid offerings. The findings underscore the need for businesses to view their operations as a collaborative endeavor in design, rather than a series of individualistic actions. This shift in perspective is crucial for understanding and responding to the evolving landscape of consumer-perceived values in the modern era. The findings of this research can help practitioners to design more effective business models and customer relations that align with the co-created values of their target segments.