XIV INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM

XIV INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM

Cape Town (South Africa), May 10-12, 2017 

The actual meeting will take place at the Sustainability Institute which is located in the Lynedoch EcoVillage 

TOWARDS A HUMAN-CENTERED SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SYSTEM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

SPONSORS & OTHER INFORMATION | MAP

Objective
The XIV International Colloquium that took place in Stellenbosch, South Africa in May 2017 had the theme “Towards a Human-Centered Sustainable Economic and Social System for the 21st Century”. It aimed to promote understanding of the global challenges facing humanity, through scientific analysis, recognizing the interconnectedness of today’s global socioeconomic challenges. The industrial, scientific and technological revolutions of the last two centuries have brought previously unimaginable economic prosperity to several billion people in what is now a truly globalized world. At the same time poverty persists and unemployment, inequality, economic and social instability are getting worse. The great transformations to our natural and human environments pose real threats to both human welfare and the planet. So far, governance institutions have not been able to adapt to this new Anthropocene Age nor to distribute evenly and fairly the fruits of knowledge and progress. The XIV International Colloquium called for novel thinking and action in relation to the need for a truly human-centered and sustainable economic and social system, one that ensures adequate attention to human needs, economic prosperity, fair distribution and sustainable use of natural resources. The Colloquium stimulated papers in the fields of: economic inequality and contradictions between human welfare and ecological sustainability, social and potential power to achieve human civilization, alternative governance arrangements appropriate for challenges we face, implicit premises underlying contemporary economic theories and policies, changes in socioeconomic thinking as an interpretative framework of human welfare and well-being, society and economy as complex systems, new schemes for managing the role of money and financial markets in promoting human-centered development.
The various panels discussed mainly issues in the world economy rarely addressed by current literature.
Organizing Committee
Mark Swilling, School of Public Leadership of Stellenbosch University of South Africa, Cape Town,(President).
Joanilio Rodolpho Teixeira, University of Brasilia, Brazil, (Vice-President & Honorary Member).
Garry Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer, World Academy of Art and Science, India.
Ricardo Azevedo Araújo, Coordinator of the Graduate program, Department of Economics, University of Brasilia, Brazil.
António Mendonça, President of ISEG, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Neantro Saavedra-Rivano, Graduate School of Humanity and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan.
Heitor Gurgulino de Souza, President of the World Academy of Art and Science and World University Concortium, Brazil.
Winston Nagan, University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Maria Rosa Borges, Vice-President of ISEG, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Stefan Brunnhuber, Head of Department, Diakonie Hospital, Dresden, Germany.
Jorge Thompson Araújo, World Bank, Washington-DC, USA.
Emilson Silva, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Selection Committee of Articles
Joanilio Rodolpho Teixeira, Neantro Saavedra-Rivano, Mark Swilling and Garry Jacobs.

SPONSORS
STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY
Stellenbosch University (SU) is home to an academic community of 29 000 students (including 4 000 foreign students from 100 countries) as well as 3 000 permanent staff members (including 1 000 academics) on five campuses. The historical oak-lined university town amongst the Boland Mountains in the winelands of the Western Cape creates a unique campus atmosphere. On the main campus, paved walkways wind between campus buildings – some dating from previous centuries; others just a few years old. Architecture from various eras attests to the sound academic foundation and establishment of an institution of excellence. This, together with the scenic beauty of the area, state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly facilities and technology, as well as visionary thinking about the creation of a sustainable 21st-century institution, makes for the unique character of Stellenbosch University. The University is amongst South Africa’s leading tertiary institutions based on research output, student pass rates and rated scientists, and is recognised internationally as an academic institution of excellence. It boasts the highest weighted research output per full-time academic staff member of all South African universities and the second-highest number of scientists in South Africa who have been rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF). The Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST) is SU’s flagship research initiative with a focus on the integration of sustainability, complexity and transdisciplinarity. It addresses five themes: governance, sustainability transitions, socioecological systems, complexity and transdisciplinary case research. Major case studies include water systems, food systems, energy systems and cities.
For more information on SU, please look at: http://www.sun.ac.za/english/about-us/Why-SU

WORLD ACADEMY OF ART AND SCIENCE
The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) is composed of individual Fellows from diverse cultures, nationalities, and intellectual disciplines, chosen for eminence in art, the natural and social sciences, and the humanities. Established in 1960 by distinguished individuals concerned by the impact of the explosive growth of knowledge, its activities seek to address global issues related to the social consequences and policy implications of knowledge. WAAS has established a network of international centers and partner institutions in different countries and regions. The Academy serves as a forum for reflective scientists, artists, and scholars to discuss the vital problems of humankind independent of political boundaries. WAAS is convenor of an international working group on human-centered economic theory which presently includes 19 institutional and 50 individual members. It is presently conducting a major project on the need for a new paradigm for global development.
For more information on WAAS, please look at: www.worldacademy.org

UNIVERSITY OF BRASILIA 
The University of Brasilia (UnB) was created on April 21,1962 following the ideas of its founders, educator Anísio Teixeira and anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro. The latter became its first president (Rector). The architect Oscar Niemeyer designed its main building, the Central Institute of Sciences (ICC), also known as the “Minhocão”. The undergraduate course in Economics was started in 1963, the MSc degree in 1973 and the PhD program in 1997. Over the years the Department of Economics has been committed to teaching and research at the frontier of the discipline. One main characteristic has been its plural vision in its approach to economic theory, and its respect for the different branches that the evolutions of economic ideas have taken. The Department of Economics at UnB has always been classified among the top Institutions in the country by the federal Ministry of Education, and has a national reputation for excellence in teaching and research.
For more information on UnB, please look at: http://www.economia.unb.br

WORLD UNIVERSITY CONSORTIUM
The World University Consortium (WUC) was established in 2013 by the World Academy in association with eminent international institutions. The mission of the Consortium is to evolve and promote development of accessible, affordable, quality higher education worldwide based on a human-centered approach that shifts the emphasis from specialized expertise to contextualized knowledge within a trans-disciplinary conceptual framework reflecting the complexity and integration of the real world. It stresses teaching excellence and the capacity of students to think and discover knowledge for themselves, from theoretical mastery to acquisition of knowledge, skills and values relevant to each individual’s personal development and career – an educational system better suited to develop the full potentials of social personality and individuality for productive engagement, social welfare and psychological well-being.
For more information on WUC, please look at: http://wunicon.org/