In a time marked by profound environmental, climatic, energy, digital, and social transitions, reflecting on the future is not only a cognitive challenge but also a collective responsibility. The growing institutional focus, at global and European level, on issues of sustainability and intergenerational justice, also in light of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, calls for a profound rethinking of the regulatory, political, and economic paradigms that guide contemporary transformations. In this context, the future ceases to be merely a hypothetical horizon and becomes the direct object of legal claims, historical awareness, political planning, and institutional responsibility.
The expression ‘right to the future’ therefore aims to emphasize the need for widespread responsibility, which should not be assessed solely as a set of rules and institutions, but should also be sought from an ethical, historical, economic, and social point of view through a variety of disciplinary proposals to redefine a new balance between development, the environment, and innovation.
The Student Conference 2025 aims to provide a common ground for scientific discussion on the topic of the ‘Right to the Future’, which will be explored and rethought from interdisciplinary perspectives.
The ultimate goal of the Conference is to highlight the contribution of the new generation of scholars in rethinking the relationship between the environment, historical knowledge, innovation, and social transformation, in order to look at what has been done and guide the transitions underway towards sustainable models of coexistence and progress between generations. The PhD students in Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Messina are pleased to invite PhD students and young researchers to participate in the 2025 call for papers ‘Right to the Future: environment, sustainability, and innovation’ to build a varied and comprehensive debate on the theme of the right to the future, highlighting the issues of sustainability, innovation, intergenerational justice, and historical awareness.