Growth - Constraint or Opportunity?

7th Dialogue on Science,
October 15 to 17, 2008 in Engelberg

The pursuit of growth is one of the main motors of human activities. Only what grows and becomes bigger is considered to be successful. Up until now, mankind has enjoyed great success with this strategy. However, voices of warning are becoming louder: by definition, the world is not unlimited, but finite, and therefore, all types of growth reach their limit, no matter how welcome this growth may be.

The pressure can already be measured: atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by 30 per cent (IPCC), two thirds of the world's ecosystems are overexploited (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) and humanity's ecological footprint is over 30 per cent larger than what the planet can regenerate (Global Footprint Network). All this leads to the following question: to what extent is growth possible and how can it be achieved without depleting resources and destroying the biosphere?

Big challenges

How can we manage growth that is sustainable and can be enjoyed by future generations? How can we harmonize economic, ecological and societal concerns? How should our political and societal institutions be adapted to this effect? What can we learn from nature's methods of growth? These and more questions will be explored in different scientific disciplines by participants during the 7 th Dialogue on Science of the Academia Engelberg. Economic, ecological, biological, sociological, religious and ethical issues will be mentioned, amongst others. Leading experts from science, society and politics, such as Prof. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Prof. Hansjörg Siegenthaler, Prof. Guoqiang Tian, Prof. Lucas Bretschger, Prof. Gebhard Kirchgässner, and to top it all off, Federal Counsellor Doris Leuthard, will contribute to the dialogue from their points of view. The intensive interaction between science and society is of utmost importance for innovation processes. Hence, it must be better interconnected in order to create value more efficiently. The Academia Engelberg creates a platform for this interconnectedness with this conference.

Possible solutions

We have to find ways and means in order to switch from purely economic to sustainable growth that takes into account internal human needs. Future generations must have possibilities to create real added value with less energy and with renewable resources. Science, politics, economy and society are challenged. A first step in this direction is the 7 th Dialogue on Science of the Academia Engelberg that will address this topic from the 15 th to 17 th October 2008 and lead to concrete approaches to solutions.

If you are interested in joining the conference, please get in contact with info at academia-engelberg.ch.