Narratives and knowledges for emergent cultures of sustainability: shaping credibility, legitimacy, and implementation of shared decisions

The profound challenge of ensuring the long-term well-being and perhaps even the survival of human society within societal and bio-geo-physical planetary boundaries hinges critically on transforming collective behaviors and embedding and maintaining the changes in cultures of sustainability. For this we need to deepen and constantly update our knowledge of the complex landscapes and dynamics of diverse cultures and distinct contexts within which the common quest for sustainability is pursued differently.
I propose studying the influence of narratives and diverse sources of knowledge on decision-making processes regarding sustainability and the perceptions of credibility and legitimacy of such decisions in African communities. My aim is to understand how and under what conditions decisions are made that enable or hinder the rise of local cultures of sustainability. Key to this are narratives that function – as they always have – as purposeful communication for forming and maintaining cultures in communities. Narrative expressions in verbal, visual, danced, or musical forms are sources of insights into social identities, visions, and motivations of community members. Such insights are essential measures of the social landscape and dynamics in which adaptive cultures of sustainability may arise in the myriad contexts, conditions, and cultures of the world.