The conference will focus on three different subtopics which are not yet part of the mainstream discourse on sustainable development: geopolitics, global financial markets and non-monetary incentives. These subtopics are complementary, of high relevance and vital in achieving sustainable development.
- Geopolitics refers to the contention between existing and aspiring great powers for control over territory and resources. What are the great strategic objectives governing geopolitics in the 21st century to secure resources in the face of a growing population and increasingly scarce resources? What are the existential needs of a state? Who are the important players and what are their goals? What are the local and global consequences?
- Global financial markets refers to the way investments and exchanges are made for goods and services in the global marketplace. Which roles do taxes, subsidies and financial investments (including speculative ones) play in determining how society uses and distributes its increasingly scarce resources? How does the financial world help or hinder the anticipation of natural limits?
- Non-monetary incentives refers to incentives existing today in modern societies for individuals to act beyond a pure logic of “Homo economicus”. What are they? Where do they come from? How can they grow? We suppose that new types of incentives are emerging and traditional ones taking new roots. We see the Open Source movement as a prominent manifestation of such non-monetary incentives.
In particular, we will seek answers to the following questions during the conference:
- What are the obstacles for sustainable development in today’s economical and political institutions?
- Which rules would have to be changed to promote sustainable development? Where and how can change happen? What are possible leverage points?
- How can we better understand the importance of our individual actions based on this global background?
A complete vision will not be achieved, but new colors enriching the picture should emerge. Ultimately, the goal of the conference is to help participants better understand how their own work can fit into the macro picture and maximize the effect of their contribution by identifying some of the powerful mechanisms driving the world.
The conference should also be a valuable source of cultural interchange and a place where new visions as well as plans of action can be born. What seems utopian now might be the standard tomorrow. Let’s actively and collaboratively shape the institutions that govern our lives!
