News about the Academy & its Fellows
NEWS ABOUT THE ACADEMY
Report to WAAS on The War in Ukraine
Cadmus Journal has published a special report to WAAS titled THE WAR IN UKRAINE: Global Perspectives on Causes and Consequences on the War in Ukraine, including 25+ articles on the origins, root causes, impact on global society, future consequences and possible solutions. The report is also accessible here.
HS4A Campaign on Human Security
The WAAS Board of Trustees approved launching of the HS4A Global Campaign on Human Security for All in collaboration with the Global Security Institute and in consultation with the United Nations Human Security Unit. The aim of the campaign is to promote a comprehensive, integrated approach to human security that encompasses peace, human rights, and sustainable development.
The campaign was officially announced at a press conference in New York City on June 14, 2022 convened by CTA, Consumer Technology Association, whose membership includes Apple, Google, Facebook and more than 1600 other leading technology companies. CTA is partnering with WAAS to make Human Security the official theme of the January 5-8, 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the world’s most influential technology event, which more than 150,000 visitors and 5000 journalists are expected to attend. Special awards will be given to CTA member companies which apply innovative technologies to address human security needs. GSI President and WAAS Trustee Jonathan Granoff delivered an address on the importance of the human security concept adopted by the UN.
WAAS also conducted a special session “Human Security & Multilateralism: Formula for Global Leadership” on June 19th officially launching the HS4A campaign to a distinguished audience of political, diplomatic, social and thought leaders at the Global Baku Forum organized by NGIC and with presentations by WAAS President Garry Jacobs; WAAS Chairman Alberto Zucconi; Saber Chowdhury, Honorary President, Interparliamentary Union of 178 national, regional and global parliaments; Liberato Bautista, President of CoNGO, the Coalition of more than 600 NGOs with UN ECOSOC special consultative status; Amanda Ellis, Executive Director, Asia-Pacific ASU Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation; Emil Constantinescu, President of Romania (1996-2000); and Walton Stinson, Director & Treasurer, HS4A. WAAS Fellows Mila Popovich, Janani Ramanathan and Saulo Casali Bahia also participated in the conference.
Discussions are underway with more than two dozen other organizations interested in collaborating on the campaign, including the IARU (International Amateur Radio Union), IAP (InterAcademy Partnership of 140+ national and regional academies), Jane Goodall Institute, Foreign Press Correspondents USA, Unity Earth, Force for Good, American Film Institute and many others.
An online meeting open to all WAAS Fellows will be conducted in August 2022, to present the campaign plan, invite suggestions and discussion on various ways in which Fellows can participate in the project.
For more information on HS4A, regular updates and to express interest in the project, click here.
WIFI Working Group
WAAS Fellows have been working on several innovative approaches for enhancing the effectiveness of economy, money and finance for sustainable development. The WAAS Innovative Finance Initiatives (WIFI) was launched on April 26, 2022 and a second meeting on July 11th identified high potential areas for synergy and collaboration between catalytic financial strategies to support global sustainable development. A Working Group has recently been constituted to integrate these complementary approaches. WIFI members include: Garry Jacobs (chair), Stefan Brunnhuber, Ketan Patel, Mariana Bozesan, Yehuda Kahane, Phoebe Koundouri, Dragan Djuricin, Tal Ronen, Dusan Vujovic and Moshe Bareket. For more information click here. To get involved, contact WAAS Support.
Free Online Trauma Informed Best Practices Master Program
WAAS is partnering with Person-Centered Approach Institute and the University of Turin to offer free training to 15 Psychotherapists operating in Ukraine or working with Ukrainian refugees in neighboring countries wishing to become trainers of trainers in Trauma Informed Best Practices. For more information, click here. To donate to this project, please contact [email protected].
WAAS Existential Risks to Humanity (ER2H) Working Group
WAAS Fellow Bob Horn is coordinating establishment of a new WAAS working group on Existential Risks to Humanity (ER2H). Major institutions around the world are beginning to organize think tanks and study groups that focus on identifying and preventing the global catastrophic risks that could cause the extinction of the human species or the collapse of human civilization. The main task of ER2H will be to identify and promote actions which can be taken now to help prevent the consequences that might result from existential risks. If you are willing to invest some time and energy to better understand the existential risks confronting humanity and preventing them from happening, contact [email protected].
Report on Recent Reports
Widely appreciated, high-quality, evidence-based information and advocacy are needed to advance the UN’s 17 SDGs, especially in light of the dual global setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine. Multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches are called for, and generally exemplified in reports, especially from UN agencies and programs. These reports are free online, prepared by groups of experts, well-written with diagrams and executive summaries, and in many instances concern two or more of the SDGs, but are generally ignored by the major mass media and academia. To remedy this situation, the Report on Recent Reports (RRR) identifies selected reports and their key concerns and bottom-line messages. Readers are encouraged to pass on information about similar reports of equal or greater importance. Contact Michael Marien at [email protected].
RECENT WAAS EVENTS
9th Global Baku Forum
A panel session on “Globalization and Rising Inequalities” was held as part of the 9th Global Baku Forum themed “Challenges to the Global World Order” on 16th June, 2022. Participants included four WAAS fellows: Rosalía Arteaga Serrano, President of Ecuador (1997); Katalin Bogyay, President of the 36th session of the UNESCO General Conference and Founder of Women4Diplomacy; Garry Jacobs and Emil Constantinescu.
In an interview at Baku with AZERTAC, Jacobs noted that “We are trying to build a new world order. The world has never had real peace and security. We are calling for a global, social movement. The fundamental right for human security must be for everybody. That’s the call we need.”
10th WCSA Conference
WAAS was an event partner for the 10th WCSA Conference on “Emerging Global Governance System” organized by the World Complexity Science Academy on April 20-23, 2022. The Conference aimed to facilitate the worldwide sharing of knowledge and the free circulation of intellectual and strategic capitals at a global scale. WAAS Fellow Edgar Morin was awarded the Distinguished and Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award during the event. Speakers included WAAS Fellows Garry Jacobs, Piero Dominici, Rama Mani and Janani Ramanathan.
A Cultural Approach to achieving the SDGs
A network of more than 30 institutions, including WAAS, the Club of Rome, the Academia Europaea, and the German and Canadian UNESCO Commissions, has been calling for a clear change of strategy through a new cultural approach to achieve the SDGs. On the initiative of WAAS Fellow Benno Werlen, UNESCO Chair on Global Understanding for Sustainability at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, more than 30 institutions have already adopted “The Jena Declaration”, which defines a new cultural approach to achieve the 17 Sustainability Development Goals. At the international conference on “Cultures for Sustainable Futures” organised by UNESCO on May 11-13, Garry Jacobs delivered a keynote address and five other fellows participated in the conference, including WAAS VP Donato Kiniger Passigli. Please click here for more information.
UPCOMING WAAS EVENT
The World Conference on Basic Sciences and Sustainable Development, September 19-22, 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia
The conference, organised by UNESCO in association with WAAS and WUC, Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Club of Rome and other international organisations, will focus on the links between basic sciences and the Sustainable Development Goals. For the conference program, click here.
NEWS ABOUT FELLOWS
| Recent Events by WAAS Fellows |
Workshop on Ancient Wisdom and Modern Challenges
A workshop was conducted in Athens on July 6-8, 2022 examining the relevance of ancient Eastern and Western philosophy to addressing contemporary global challenges. The event was organized by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, SDSN Europe and Greece; and Columbia University Center for Sustainable Development under the direction of Jeffrey Sachs and WAAS Fellow Phoebe Koundouri. Garry Jacobs represented WAAS and emphasized the critical importance of transforming the way we think to restore the synergy between science, philosophy, ethics and spiritual experience and in breaking down the disciplinary boundaries that fragment knowledge in modern education. This workshop is a prelude to larger events in 2023. For more information, click here.
| Upcoming Events organized by WAAS Fellows |
Enacting Transformative Justice to Re-Story our Humanity, 15th July, 2022, 18:30-20:00 CET on Zoom
A Participatory Transformative Performance-ARTelier-Seminar of theatre and music to experience the power of enacting transformative justice in your own lives and in our world. Submitted by Rama Mani
The Higher Dream of Earth Citizenship, 16th July, 2022, 19:00 CET on Zoom
This creative, participatory plenary forum of Truth and Reconciliation Week 2022 will aim to harvest our individual dreams and ignite our collective conscience! Submitted by Rama Mani
36×36 Association Conference 2022: Life-serving Economies, 28-31 August 2022, St. Arbogast, Austria
The purpose of the conference is to contribute to developing the fundamentals of a new economic architecture based on a female and feminist reference system. Submitted by Petra Kuenkel
Copernicus Alliance Higher Education Summit, 6-9 September 2022, Hasselt University, Belgium
The HIGHER EDUCATION SUMMIT focuses on research- and practice-related issues to realize an economy that strives for a safe and just world for everyone, within our planetary boundaries. This international conference is the place to be for anyone who wants to be a changemaker in the field of transformative learning for sustainable development within higher education. Submitted by Anne Snick
The 21st Century Skills and the Future of Jobs and Careers, 1-2 February, 2023, Karabuk University Campus in Karabuk and Safranbolu, Turkey
The aim of the conference is to bring together many different disciplines to more clearly define 21st century skills. Submitted by Elif Cepni
| Achievements, Appointments & Career Moves |
Stefan Brunnhuber: Appointed Member of the German Federal Council on ‘Finance’ (2022-2025).
Elif Cepni: Appointed UNESCO Chair on “Anticipation, Futures Literacy and Strategic Foresight”.
Nazzareno Diodato: Made Honorary Life Fellow at the Novel Research Academy for the commendable work done at the Met European Research Observatory.
Faris Gavrankapetanović: Awarded second PhD at IEDC Bled School of Management on “Organizational Culture and Affective Commitment In Learning Organizations: Managing Large Hospitals In Transitional Economies”.
Alberto Zucconi: Awarded Carl Rogers Award from the American Psychological Association (APA). The Carl Rogers Award is given to an individual for their outstanding contribution to the theory and practice of humanistic psychology.
| Books by WAAS Fellows |
Yi Heng Cheng, Chapter 17 “Prosperity in Resilience, Limits and Beyond” Exapt Press 2022
Anne Snick, Social Finance in the Anthropocene. In T. Walker, J. McGaughey, S. Goubran, & N. Wagdy (Eds.), Innovations in Social Finance. Transitioning Beyond Economic Value (pp. 13–34). Palgrave Macmillan 2021
Mirjana Radovic-Markovic, Macroeconomics of Western Balkans in the Context of Global Work and Business Environment Information Age Publishing, Inc., Charlotte May 2022
Sesh Velamoor, The Future: A New Paradigm Self Published: Ingram Sparks 2022.
WAAS FELLOWS WHO WILL BE REMEMBERED
Rodolfo A. Fiorini (June 10, 2022) — original thinker, educator, researcher, discoverer and long standing member of the WAAS Board of Trustees. Although he has left us, his thoughts and contributions are here to stay. His views of science, engineering, technology and humanity were all-embracing. His research interests included complex systems, nonlinear modelling, bioengineering, neuroscience, life science, as well as wellbeing and public health. He was fascinated with complex systems and tried to arrive at a common understanding of the world with hope. His latest work was dedicated to adding Art to Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEAM) in collaboration with Witold Kinsner.
Hazel Henderson (May 22, 2022) – environmental activist, economic theorist, sustainable investment advocate, futurist author, Hazel viewed the planet and the human family as one house with one family. Her intellectual and political gifts were dedicated to making sure that everyone in her family benefits from the abundance of nature and that nature’s regenerative abundance is protected. The wealth of ideas and practical policies she advocated over many decades are a treasure trove that demonstrate virtue in action. She will remain an inspirational presence for all who worked with her. Her compass of justice as a foundation for peace was always set clearly. She will be missed. She was guided by love. May we honor her legacy by being similarly guided. Read her story in The Washington Post.
Robert Hoffman (June 6, 2022) — economist, Statistics Canada, Research Associate; Professor, University of Waterloo, founder of whatIf? Technologies, Member, Canadian Association of the Club of Rome, Member, the Club of Rome, and WAAS Fellow. A very active member of the WAAS New Economic Theory Working Group, his later work concentrated on developing effective statistical models of the world economy and the planetary environment which can be used as educational tools by users to test the impact of various changes on health, employment, living standards, sustainable development and the environment.
Editorial Team
Ranjani Ravi (Editor) | Vasugi Balaji | Chitra Krishnamoorthy | Hariny Narayan | Vani Senthil