Guest Editors:
Adenike Akinsemolu
Environmental Sustainability Expert, Leading Change in Education & Community Resilience
Annick Eimer
Veteran Science Journalist, Championing Global Science & Higher Education Dialogue
Sarah Iqbal
Global Health Research Manager & Knowledge Innovator, Advancing Impactful Research Dissemination
PLAIN-LANGUAGE SUMMARY
When we began this journey through the Humboldt Residency Programme 2024, we were not simply gathering to discuss sustainability or research. We came together to listen — to one another, to the Earth, and to the wisdom that lives quietly within communities and cultures across the world. We came with different stories, disciplines, and languages, yet were bound by one shared question: how can knowledge truly serve people and the planet, and not just power?
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Listening as a Form of Knowing
Over the months of the Residency, we realised that listening is the first step to transformation. Listening to farmers and fishers, to healers and elders, to scientists and youth leaders — all of whom carry pieces of truth that are too often unheard. True sustainability begins when we allow these many ways of knowing to meet as equals. It asks us to slow down, to see that expertise does not only live in institutions, but in experience. It reminds us that progress is not measured by domination, but by dialogue.
Over the months of the Residency, we realised that listening is the first step to transformation. Listening to farmers and fishers, to healers and elders, to scientists and youth leaders — all of whom carry pieces of truth that are too often unheard. True sustainability begins when we allow these many ways of knowing to meet as equals. It asks us to slow down, to see that expertise does not only live in institutions, but in experience. It reminds us that progress is not measured by domination, but by dialogue.
Deep Listening
Moving beyond hearing words to understanding the wisdom embedded in lived experiences and traditional practices
Equal Voices
Creating spaces where academic knowledge and community wisdom hold equal weight in shaping solutions
Transformative Dialogue
Recognizing that meaningful change begins when we slow down and genuinely engage with diverse perspectives
Many Worlds, One Future
The stories in this issue — from the sacred knowledge of Arochukwu, to the shezhire genealogies of Kazakhstan, to the climate resilience of Tuvalu and the volunteer movements of Central Asia — show that the future of our planet cannot be built by one worldview alone. Each contribution carries the heartbeat of a place. Together, they form a map of interconnected wisdoms — living proof that there is no single road to sustainability. There are many roads, and they all matter. This is what it means to bridge power and knowledge: to make space for every voice, and to weave a future strong enough to hold them all.
“Each contribution carries the heartbeat of a place. Together, they form a map of interconnected wisdoms – living proof that there is no single road to sustainability.”
Innovation with a Soul
Technology and innovation are vital — but only when they carry humanity with them. As we read about weather-information systems designed for smallholder farmers, or biogas projects rooted in local cooperation, we are reminded that innovation must never erase context. Progress that forgets people is no progress at all. The most powerful tools are not just digital or mechanical; they are relational — trust, respect, empathy, and co-creation.
What We Learned
From this experience, three lessons remain with us:
Knowledge must be shared, not owned
Every community holds wisdom that can transform the world if given the chance to speak.
Collaboration is an act of courage
It means stepping out of comfort zones, unlearning hierarchies, and embracing the vulnerability of learning from others.
Hope is a practice
Even amid inequality and crisis, hope is the quiet force that keeps us building, imagining, and believing in better.
Reflection: These lessons emerged not from academic theory, but from the lived reality of working across cultures, disciplines, and power structures throughout our residency journey.
Towards Shared Futures
The Humboldt Residency reminded us that knowledge is alive — it grows when nurtured, it crosses boundaries when invited, and it heals when shared. As editors and as humans, we carry deep gratitude for every author, advisor, and community represented in these pages. Each voice adds a new colour to the spectrum of understanding we need to sustain this planet.
This issue is not an ending, but a beginning — a bridge stretching from the familiar to the possible. May it inspire you, the reader, to listen more deeply, to collaborate more bravely, and to imagine more generously. Let us continue to build a world where power and knowledge walk hand in hand — not as rivals, but as partners in creating a just and sustainable future for all.
Mit Hoffnung und Solidarität,
Guest Editors
Environmental Sustainability Expert, Leading Change in Education & Community Resilience
Veteran Science Journalist, Championing Global Science & Higher Education Dialogue
Global Health Research Manager & Knowledge Innovator, Advancing Impactful Research Dissemination
Citation: Akinsemolu A., Eimer A. & Iqbal S.(2025). Reflections & Emerging Pathways. SustainE, 3(1), 328–332. In A. Akinsemolu, A. Eimer, & S. Iqbal (Eds.), Bridging power and knowledge: Addressing global imbalances in knowledge systems for sustainable futures [Special issue]. https://doi.org/10.55366/suse.v3i1.16
