How can the humanities and social sciences help sustainable development projects achieve their goals? This is the central question of this issue of “Cultivating the Future”, which presents ten experiences conducted in six different countries. These address themes such as the development of crop systems resilient to disasters in Haiti, the professional integration of
young people and the involvement of women in decision-making within agricultural organizations in Guinea,
the intergenerational transmission of traditional knowledge and techniques in a context of deforestation in Cameroon, the resilience of rural women in a context of climate change and the participation of men in nutrition and early childhood development in Benin, the reconstruction of territories affected by conflicts with local communities and the development of care for victims of wartime sexual assaults in the DRC. These very diverse projects are all linked by one thing in common: they all intend to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Also known as the Global Goals, they were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. They represent the commitment of member countries to eradicate poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all human beings live in peace and prosperity by 2030.
These ten chapters will relate these singular projects but also how a work of reflection nourished by systemic approaches and collective intelligence, social psychology, anthropology, sociology, clinical psychology or adult pedagogy can identify both useful analyses and leads.