Our Common Future
Interdisciplinary Conference on Key Future Issues
Now, at the beginning of the 21st century we are experiencing social, environmental, cultural, and technological change at an unprecedented pace. The best way of approaching the challenges posed by this fundamental change is to get involved in actively confronting them, in developing new concepts and approaches, and in shaping them continuously.
In November 2010 Stiftung Mercator joined forces with Volkswagen Foundation and Deutsche Messe to stage the international conference Our Common Future, providing a platform for leading intellectuals, business people, politicians, and young researchers to enter into a dialogue, identify the major challenges lying ahead, present different perspectives on global issues, and suggest solutions which can point the way forward. The conference took place on two days each in Hanover and Essen, with more than 800 international experts taking part. It continued the discussion of issues central to our common future which had been raised during the world’s fair Expo 2000 in Hanover.
Structure and Organization
"Our Common Future" is a joint conference of the Volkswagen Foundation, Deutsche Messe and Stiftung Mercator in association with the city of Hanover and RUHR.2010. The conference resumes the discussion on central issues of our common future raised during the Expo 2000 in Hanover. In Essen it was the highlight of the RUHR.2010 European Capital of Culture academic program.
The following research areas was at the forefront of the debate:
- Climate Change and Energy
- Future Technologies
- Economic and Urban Development
- Global Health and Molecular Medicine
- Human Rights and Global Values
Objectives
By way of a combination of plenary sessions, workshops and panel debates, the conference hasl facilitated new ideas and an exchange of experiences. Its main objective was to facilitate the exchange of ideas between all those interested in and capable of contributing to a more sustainable future of science, economy and politics.
