new normal

As we enter an era of climate change, the increasing frequency of natural disasters and the scale of their global impact have highlighted a need to redefine the relationships between humans, society, and nature. In this context, the term new normal functions as a conceptual expansion of a phrase that was originally used to describe specific economic conditions following the 2008 global financial crisis. New normal challenges the presumed conventional meanings embedded in the word “normal,” calling for a shift in values in order to navigate a rapidly changing world. SMB10 Eu Zên (2018) was premised upon this notion and confronted the anxieties concomitant with facing an unpredictable future, while also posing fundamental questions about how we should live “good lives.” SMB10 featured various programs addressing the need for revolutionary change across nearly all domains, including politics and economics, society and culture, scientific technology and art, nature and ecology.