World Student Community for Sustainable Development

Introduction

The Annual Meeting of WSCSD in 2006 was proposed during AM 2005 to take place in Zurich, Switzerland. Project21, the member community of WSCSD in Zurich, is now making efforts on the concept initialization of AM 2006.

“Mind, Knowledge & Sustainability” is the proposed theme by Project21 for AM 2006. Although the Executive Board of WSCSD hasnt made any concrete decision on this theme, this theme is highly expected and commented as a new thinking of sustainability.

The Theme

“Mind, Knowledge & Sustainability” is interested in the responsibilities which arise from dealing with knowledge on a personal and social level. As present students and future scientists, politicians, reporters, teachers, etc., will be considerably involved in, and thus bear a strong responsibility for, the process of knowledge creation, management and dissemination.

We will draw from the assumption that knowledge has to be distinguished from data and information. Knowledge is directly related to human beings because it is us who process data and information to form knowledge – “Knowledge has its place between two ears, not between two modems” (Fredmund Malik). Unlike natural resources, which will become increasingly rare in the future unless we learn our lessons in sustainability, the overabundance of data and information, which forms our resource for knowledge, will keep growing. From a technological and economic point of view, production, storage and accessibility of data and information are easier and cheaper than ever before due to the ongoing digitalization. From a psychological and ethical point of view, however, we might ask ourselves if we are capable of keeping up with the pace of our own informational progress. Our ability to discern meaningful and useful knowledge amidst the ever-growing flood of information is becoming more and more essential. Society therefore faces the challenge not only to guarantee the individual’s access to information but also to supply the tools and abilities for information processing.

“Mind, Knowledge & Sustainability” offers an opportunity to explore fundamental interdisciplinary questions about definition, origin, evolution and loss/preservation of knowledge, but it also opens up a space for discussion on knowledge society with its diverse aspects. Storage, management and regulation of existing information, for example, can conflict with data protection, patent law or copyright. Current discussions about the regulation of the Internet as well as the disagreement about prices for medicine in third-world countries make it clear that, more than ever, knowledge is a question of power. On the other hand, the open source movement in software engineering shows us the possibilities a digitalized and networked world can offer to the sustainable production of knowledge.

From a global perspective, however, it remains questionable if the access to IT-technology and the Internet can alone solve the central problems of our knowledge society. High illiteracy rates, lacking technical knowledge or forms of political censorship and propaganda are only a few critical obstacles calling for more sustainable, educational and socio-political solutions. Moreover, the question arises if IT-technology and the Internet might even widen the knowledge gap between different people and countries by uprooting traditional practical knowledge and replacing it by the fluctuating stream of information.

The conference builds on the notion of ’personal sustainability’. Typically used when referring to the deployment of natural resources, ’sustainability’ can also have other meanings. As our society exploits heavily the external natural resources, equally we exploit, often and ruthlessly, our own and others’ intellectual and physical potential. Yet only a body and mind in balance enable the kind of clear long-term thinking which forms the basis for sustainable behavior. Thus motivation for sustainable behavior ultimately has to come from inside, not from social or financial benefits.

Only by deploying our inner personal resources in a sustainable way we can have a positive effect on how we deploy natural resources.

Reflections

It is a rather innovative theme. It seems to be limited, yet “knowledge†itself is unlimited. The “sustainability of knowledge†and the “knowledge of sustainability†can both go on well under this theme. For us youngsters, it’s very worth trying it!