“Purpose comes when we know we have done something that we believe matters.” (Hurst, 2015)
The knowledge society we live in is diverse, globalized and imbued with media and technology. The fading of borders offers opportunities worldwide to work together on creative solutions that are meaningful for society.
The rapidly changing society has a major influence on the current and future ‘Leisure Landscape’. Also within the Leisure Landscape, the end user determines what is valuable and what is not. To secure this Leisure Future, a good insight into the end user and constant innovation thus is important. Innovating means not being reactive, and being sensitive towards oneself and one’s environment, and being open to adopt a different perspective on the world and be willing to look ahead and move forward based on this. Making a valuable contribution to the quality of life of the individual, the Leisure Industry and communities.
It is important for the Leisure industry to look at all of these aspects of sustainability as a whole integrating it into its dna. We already see this happening in festivals such as DGTL and welcome to the village but also in many other Leisure sectors.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)
As we all know sustainability is much more than environmental sustainability. Something that is becomes clear and apparent when looking at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Although all SDG’s are important points of focus, if you look at the SDG’s from a Leisure perspective there are a few that the Leisure industry could perhaps have a bigger influence on.
SDG 4 Quality Education
Although this is not directly related to leisure we are in the educational field so it would be strange to leave this one out.
SDG 17 Partnerships for goals
First of all, it is important to realize that the leisure and event manager operates in a complex and dynamic environment, in which the leisure manager must be able to connect different stakeholders within the public and private domain in order to establish sustainable partnerships.
SDGs 3 Good health and well-being and 11: Sustainable cities and Communities
This should subsequently lead to value creation aimed at creating sustainable cities and communities in which quality of life, whereby the well-being of society and the well-being of individuals within society are paramount. This translates into the creation of meaningful leisure concepts that strive for a balance between prosperity, welfare and well-being.
SDGs 5 Gender Equality, 12 Responsible consumption and Production, and 15 Life on land
That means paying attention to social equality through the use of leisure, business models aimed at the long term, being able to pursue personal ambitions and improving social conditions. All this from an awareness of the impact that leisure has on the natural environment
The combination of all these aspects will force us to look at a more sustainable future and the important role that the leisure industry could play in that future narrative.