About Us
The Culture and Sustainability Lab (CSL) is a non-profit organisation founded by Aleksandra Bajde, a Slovenian composer-performer and political science researcher who is committed to employing sustainable channels throughout her creative practice. The purpose of CSL lies in safeguarding and promoting arts and culture – particularly, contemporary arts for sustainable development – while exploring in parallel, the potential of cultural and creative approaches towards interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and intercultural collaboration projects fostering innovation and sustainable development.
§ The focus of the CSL lies in the research and development of new models of cooperation between professionals from the field of arts and culture, and other sectors. It aims to identify future models of (cross-sectoral) collaboration for sustainable development, while also developing the tools to actively promote them.
§ CSL promotes and supports national and international cultural exchanges, capacity building, as well as knowledge transfer, and the sharing of best practices with various artistic and scientific fields that relate to new art forms, innovation, and sustainability, resulting in inspiring projects and works of art at the intersection of art, science, and society.
§ CSL promotes dialogue between governmental and non-governmental (e.g. civil society, NGOs, and other organisations) actors in the areas of culture and sustainable development, and bridges the gap between them.
§ CSL is committed to the promotion of values and culture in the European and global context and draws from the UN 2030 Agenda, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) as its common framework. The scope of CSL’s activities is therefore designed to support the achievement of the UN SDGs through the development of local, regional, and international projects as well as cross-sectoral regional and international partnerships.
Through its activities, engagement, and advocacy the CSL brings exceptional value to the shaping of sustainable and collective futures.
Team
Aleksandra Bajde
Founding Director
Emre Sihan Kaleli
Communication Manager
About the Founding Director
Aleksandra Bajde works at the intersection of cultural practice, research, and policy, with a focus on sustainability and international cultural relations. She holds a trilingual Master’s degree in Advanced European and International Studies from the European Institute in France and a Master’s degree in Composition with distinction from Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz. She completed her PhD in Political Science at the University of Vienna, where her research focused on EU cultural diplomacy and international cultural policy, with particular attention to the Europeanization of cultural diplomacy in small EU member states.
Aleksandra is active as a freelance composer-performer and works as a project manager at the Austrian Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music. From 2014 to 2018, she served as Project Manager and Secretary of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras. She has also gained professional experience at the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia in France and at the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Vienna. With over a decade of experience in international cultural project management, her work fosters collaboration between the arts, research, and policy sectors to promote civic engagement, cultural exchange, and cross-sectoral impact.
She has contributed to policy briefs, taught at the university level, and participated in international initiatives including the Global Cultural Relations Programme (EU), the European Music Council Fellowship, the RECAS Fellowship, and the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in International Cultural Relations, Cultural and Public Diplomacy (CREDO) at the University of Siena.
As a cultural practitioner and social scientist, Aleksandra is committed to addressing pressing ‘glocal’ challenges by connecting cultural practice, policy-making, and sustainability at the European and international levels. In 2022, she co-founded the non-profit organisation Culture and Sustainability Lab to advance interdisciplinary dialogue, research, and action toward sustainable cultural futures.