It's a good time (for learning)

Many consider it important for organisations to reflect on their position in society and hold themselves to a certain ethical standard. To do so, organisations incorporate corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices into their business models, which is also shown to have additional benefits for the organisation. For festival organisers, the environmental impacts of large temporary gatherings are undeniable which has resulted in many festival organisations taking measures to make their events more sustainable. However, CSR is not a recognised concept for most festival organisations and CSR strategies are often informally implemented but not formally ingrained in the business strategies of the organisations. As festivals have the potential to educate attendees on social responsibility and inspire behavioural transformations, considering the way that social responsibility is implemented and communicated to the attendee is important. It was found that through active efforts of the festival organisation, attendees experience a sense of shared responsibility during the event to engage in collective efforts to be socially responsible for the festival itself and for the world as a whole. By testing out new socially responsible behaviours through engagement with Boom’s social responsibility efforts and values, the attendees are able to develop new habits and gain a new sense of purpose around caring for others and for the environment. They internalise these values and often apply them into their day-to-day lives, stretching the engagement with the festival’s CSR mission well beyond the event itself. Furthermore, engagement with the festival’s CSR efforts and values and the resulting new sustainable habits and behaviours are now part of the attendees’ identities and are something that connects their identities to the festival. This made attendees eager to spread their message and engage in positive word of mouth.