This roundtable asks: What should a global constitution for sustainability contain in order to ensure justice and resilience in the Anthropocene?

The session begins with opening remarks from Professor Joyeeta Gupta (University of Amsterdam, Spinoza Prize laureate 2023), situating the discussion within current global sustainability challenges. Members of the Open Science Justice Lab (OSJL) will then offer lightning presentations on different dimensions of the Global Constitution Project (globalconstitution.org): rights and responsibilities for sustainability, the role of digital governance, and plural perspectives on justice.

The core of the roundtable is a structured dialogue with participants. Rather than limiting contributions to the invited speakers, the format will engage attendees to articulate what they believe should be part of a global constitution. The team will guide the discussion through focused questions: What fundamental rights and responsibilities should be recognized? How can global principles and local justice claims be reconciled? Whose perspectives are currently excluded, and how might they be institutionalized? What role can Development Studies play in shaping these frameworks? Should participants agree, they will be invited to join the ‘Friends of the Global Constitution project’.

This session contributes to the conference theme of “(G)local solutions” by exploring how constitutional approaches might connect global sustainability frameworks with diverse local realities. It also invites participants to shape the next steps: the roundtable concludes with an open invitation to submit essays to the Global Constitution Project, ensuring that ideas raised in Antwerp directly inform a broader, ongoing transdisciplinary initiative.