ICSD 2017 : 5th International Conference on Sustainable Development, 6 - 7 September 2017 Rome, Italy

Conference Objective and Philosophical Framework                  

 The International Conference on Sustainable Development is inspired from the critical challenge of human, environmental, and economic sustainability concerning the present and future generations in a global-scale context.

The 5th ICSD 2017 will be held at the Roma Eventi, Piazza della Pilotta, 4, Rome, Italy
Wednesday 6 to Thursday 7 September, 2017.

The Conference theme is:

"Creating a unified foundation forthe Sustainable Development: research, practice andeducation".

This theme emphasizes the strong foundation that is provided by using research to inform our everyday practices, policies, and analytical approaches.

The 2017 Conference will once again provide a forum for the sharing of ideas, presentation of research findings, and discussion of professional issues relevant to Sustainability Science.

This ambition will proceed in a multidisciplinary way across the various fields and perspectives, through which we can address the fundamental and related questions of Sustainable Development. This interdisciplinary forum is for scholars, teachers, and practitioners from any professional discipline who share an interest in—and concern for— sustainability in an holistic perspective, where environmental, cultural, economic and social concerns intersect.

We invite you to submit an abstract in the range of the
following streams within the ICSD2017 program:

1. Economic Sustainability:
Financial Sustainability, SME, MicroFinance,
Emerging Countries, International Trade,
2. Environmental Sustainability:
Water and Soil conservation, Healthcare,
Renewable Energies, Food and Enviromental Legislation
3. Socio-Cultural Sustainability:
Sustainable Urbanism, Education, Human
Development, Psychology, Sociology

We are inviting proposals for paper presentations, posters/exhibits, or virtual presentation. Proposal ideas that extend beyond these thematic areas will also be considered.  For more information about the ideas and themes underlying this community send an e-mail at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Virtual participation is available for those who are unable to attend the conference in person.  All conference registrants (in-person and virtual) can be published in the European Journal of Sustainable Development or in the Book of Proceedings ICSD 2017 (ISBN).

I. Conference Proposal Guidelines

Several types of information will be requested when you submit your proposal, but the "Long Description" is the central and most important component.  It contains the information which reviewers use to evaluate the proposal and, if your presentation is ultimately published in the journal, serves at the Abstract of the journal article.    While each proposal should address the purpose, methods, and implications of the scholarly work, the content within these general categories will vary somewhat, based on the type of scholarly work to be presented and the type of presentation you choose.  Illustrations of the topics, or elements, to be addressed in the proposal are presented below. Please note that all proposals and presentations must be in English or Italian.

II. Type of Scholarly Work: Research, Practice, or Theory

Research Focus

  1. Thesis statement:  the hypothesis, research statement, statement of the problem or issue being explored.
  2. Methodology: brief overview of research method used to address the research question identified in the thesis statement. For the proposal, include information on the type of data collected (e.g., surveys, interviews, tests, literary analysis or critique, observations) but not on design, sampling, or data analyses techniques (these should be explained in the full paper).
  3. Results: the main findings of the study, resulting from the methods used.
  4. Conclusions and Implications:  what the results mean for the field of study or for society; relate back to the thesis statement.

Practice Focus

  1. Framework: the scholarly knowledge base--theoretical framework, previous research, or conceptual approach--upon which the practical application is based.
  2. Description of practical application: what was designed or developed, how was it implemented, in what setting and with whom?
  3. Outcomes: what has been learned from the implementation, what strengths and weaknesses have been identified?
  4. Implications: what are the next steps or the implications for future practice or for society. 

Theory Focus

  1. Statement of the hypothesis, theoretical perspective, or philosophical idea being asserted.
  2. Relationship to existing theories or perspectives in the field.
  3. Contribution: how proposed idea advances knowledge in the field or benefits society.

III. Type of Presentation: Paper, Poster/Exhibit

The type of presentation you plan will also have implications for the information you include in the Long Description.

Paper Presentation 

Accepted papers will be organized into thematic sessions or roundtable discussions and, while the preparation for your presentation may be different for these two formats, the content of your proposal should include all of the elements of a research, practice, or theory-focused work listed above.

Poster/Exhibit 

Generally most appropriate for "practice-focused" works (or works in progress), a poster/exhibit proposal may concentrate on one aspect, for example, "description of the practical application".  The proposal should clearly describe the type of information (or product) that will be displayed.

IV. Steps for Presenting at the Conference

Preparing to present your scholarly work at the annual conference consists of the following steps, each of which is explained in detail in the indicated link(s).

1. Prepare your proposal

  • Consider the most appropriate Proposal Type for your topic and stage of work. 
  • Review the Proposal Guidelines for the topics to be included in the proposal.
  • Prepare the proposal for online submission and note the current submission deadline.

2. Submit your Proposal

  • On the web site you can download the proposal form
  • Enter all the requested information, and choose the Themes and Keywords that best fit  your presentation.
  • Your proposal will be reviewed within 1-4 weeks of receipt.

3. Register to attend Conference and submit your manuscript

  • If your proposal is accepted, declare your intention to attend and present your work by registering for the conference and send your manuscript at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Remember that your presentation cannot be scheduled until your registration is complete and fully paid.

4. prepare your presentation

  • Note your presentation date:  Depending on when you submitted your proposal and completed registration, your presentation will appear in either the draft program (posted 3 weeks prior to the conference start date).

V. Submit a Conference Proposal

  1. Title of Proposal
  2. Presentation Type:  (paper, poster,)
  3. Longer Description (Abstract):  A description of the purpose, methods, and implications of your scholarly work.  This will be used to evaluate and place your work in the appropriate session.   If your paper is subsequently published as an article in the journal, this will serve as the Abstract (may be revised prior to publication).  Recommended length 150-200 words.
  4. Keyword set: Keywords are used to organize presentations into appropriate sessions, so please choose words that clearly describe the main idea of your work. List only 3-8 keywords.
  5. Knowledge Focus: Choose if your work has a Practice, Research, or Theory focus.  .
  6. Theme Selection: Select the theme that best categorizes your work.  Theme selections will be used to begin the process of organizing presentations into sessions.   Proposals related to topics other than these themes may also be considered. 
  7. Scheduling Note: optional note to organizers regarding session scheduling requests or restrictions.  Note that these requests can only be honored for registrations received by certain dates (see Registration Deadlines).
  8. Biographical Information: organization or institution, position or title within the organization/institution, short statement of interests.
  9. Language: Please note that all proposals must be in English.

Download the proposal form and follow the directions; or contact  us for assistance.

Important Note: You may submit multiple proposals for a conference.  However, in the interest of fairness and as a function of the scheduling process, each presented paper must have a separate registered author.  Therefore, you may co-author up to 3 presented papers, but there must be 3 registered participants--one available to present each of the three papers.  In other words, there must be at least one, paid, in-person registration per paper presented at the conference. 

VI. Submission of the Manuscript

Authors Guidelines

General Requirements

  • All manuscript should be written in English or Italian language. Title and abstract should be written only in English.
  • We only accept text files or files in .doc format (such as from Microsoft Word). We do not accept PDF submissions.
  • Articles should be approximately 2,000-5,000 words in length. They should be written as continuous expository narrative in a chapter or article style—not as lists of points or a PowerPoint presentation.
  • Please remember that the articles are to be published in a fully refereed academic journal. This means that the style and structure of your text should be relatively formal. For instance, you should not submit a verbatim transcript of your oral presentation, such as ‘Today I want to speak to you about …’.
  • Article submissions must contain no more than 30% of textual material published in other places by the same author or authors, and these other places must be acknowledged and cited; in other words, the remaining 70% of the article must be unique and original to your current submission.
  • Authors must ensure the accuracy of citations, quotations, diagrams, tables and maps.
  • Articles must have a minimum of five scholarly references.
  • Spelling can vary according to national usage, but should be internally consistent.
  • Articles should be thoroughly checked and proofread before submission, both by the author and a critical editorial friend. After you have submitted your article you are unable to make any changes to it during the refereeing process, although if accepted, you will have a chance to make minor revisions after refereeing and before the final submission of your article.
  • Articles will be assessed by referees against ten criteria or fewer, if some criteria do not apply to a particular kind of article.

In case of Acceptance a manuscript should be submitted in Word file and should not exceed 10 pages.

Please use the following rule of text for your manuscript:

  • Title: 14 pts. Centered, Garamond or Times New Roman
  • Abstract: 10 pts. Italic, Garamond or Times New Roman
  • Paragraphs: 12 pts. Numbered, alignment left. Garamond or Times New Roman
  • Text: 12 pts, single line, Justified, Garamond or Times New Roman
  • References: Use APA style for references
  • Tables and figures: Included in the text, centered and numbered

More details in Meeting Calendar