Introduction: Resiliency, Efficacy, and Community in a Digital Age

In 2023, the United Nations reported that at the midway point toward its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, many of its goals were “severely off track” (United Nations, 2023). In response, the United Nations Secretary General called for accelerated, transformative, and integrated actions that addressed gaps and weaknesses in each nation’s ability to meet these challenges. The rapid acceleration of climate change, re-aligning our societal norms in a post-pandemic world, and the ever-present threat to human safety and well-being will only make addressing these challenges more difficult in the future. And yet, the need has never been greater. We imagine that a part of that effort is to examine the synthesis between who is being affected (the community), how can they best absorb changes (resilience), and to what extent they believe in their own capacity to change (efficacy). This book presents theoretical foundations, applied case studies, and interdisciplinary examples that interrogate the interfaces of community, communication, media, health, and the environment toward identifying leverage points in addressing challenges both theoretical and practical.