The ongoing efforts to build a well functioning Energy Union in Europe should be seen in the context of major global changes related in various ways to the energy sector – possibly a whole new phase of globalization, featuring new actors, new forms of balance of power, new conflicts (actual or potential).
The key to sustainable development is not only an effective partnership between government, civil society and the private sector, but also a scientific approach. Science and technology are fundamental in generating the knowledge necessary to sustainably resolve today’s most pressing problems. And they are especially important when seen from a global viewpoint, as today’s problems are global problems, as well as from a gender perspective.
The intersection between women, nutrition and health is undeniable. Women are the food matrons of the world as in most cases they are the ones who purchase and prepare what families eat. They are also the world’s caregivers, meaning they are typically the ones who look after children, the elderly and the sick. Despite this women are also the most food insecure and make up the majority of the world’s patient population, though they have the least access to healthcare.
Trade agreements, particularly those between Europe and the US (TTIP: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), provide a huge opportunity for development and growth and are therefore so much more than a potential risk. The European Commission’s agenda is very ambitious.
By way of setting the tone for this International Workshop, figures were cited showing that, in 2014, 350 million PCs and 320 million tablets were sold, and that, in the next five years, there will be some 200 billion web-connected devices. The latest devices – it was observed – are able to learn our needs and preferences, enabling increasingly personalized feedback, with artificial intelligence continuing to make great leaps forward. It was stressed, however, that it is not just machines that are learning from people – humans too have ended up being shaped by their devices.
Kicking off proceedings at this international workshop was the observation that agricultural market growth is once again the focus of world attention. Consumer prices for food products are rising, and sudden fluctuations in the cost of agricultural commodities are set to become more frequent in the short term. After a period of abundance, the world risks an era of food shortages, due to factors such as demographic shifts, climate change, growing global health problems, and an inadequate distribution of wealth.
Emerging from discussions during the Med 2015 Youth Forum – devoted to the topic “The challenge: new jobs for new generations” – was the finding that investment in infrastructure, in the Internet of Things, and in renewable energy, along with a shift towards a greater grassroots focus, are the factors that could bring about a decisive breakthrough to the problem of youth employment in the Mediterranean.
Kick-starting the debate at this third workshop of the Aspen Energy Forum was the observation that low oil prices and the consequent volatility are causing instability in energy markets, with the situation unlikely to change at least for a while.
These days, the world of health is facing a revolution that does not only concern medicine but also includes a broad range of disciplines and many aspects of daily life. Demographic tendencies, the evolution of research and the strategic use of “big data” are bringing about a sea change in the existing model of individual care.
Headlining this international workshop was the observation that EXPO 2015 is not only a major global event in which 148 nations will participate, nor is it just an attraction expected to draw in around 20 million visitors. It was characterized, rather, as primarily an opportunity of great political significance, the success of which will be gauged by its ability to put across and put back on the global agenda strategic issues such as food security and wastage, poverty reduction, health protection, and the fight against inequality, including between genders.
Everyone likes to eat food cooked on the barbecue, but whilst in the western world, it is part and parcel of a convivial habit, often linked to a celebration of some sort, in Africa and Asia it is one of the main causes of death. It is also a sign of inequality and the cause of environmental damage, and yet is a problem that few have heard of.
In 1764, the now famous treatise “On Crimes and Punishments” was published anonymously, meeting with a success that today would be described as global, creating quite a stir in Italy, and exerting an influence both on the Founding Fathers in the United States and on the Napoleonic Constitution in France. Two years later, having already become an established work, it was released again – though this time it was attributed to the pen of Cesare Beccaria.
This talk-debate session focused on the Republican victory in the recent US midterm elections, heralded as unquestionably significant in terms of both numbers and scale. President Obama is potentially up against both the House of Representatives and the Senate – a circumstance that is certainly nothing new in the American political system. Indeed, in the last sixty years, Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson were the only presidents not forced to contend with a “divided government”, making the latter an established institutional tradition of politics across the pond.
The second meeting of The Aspen Institute “Food Security Strategy Group” was held in Rome between February 5-7, 2014, and saw the participation of entrepreneurs from the agro-food sector, experts, development practitioners, representatives from international organizations, and political leaders.
Kick-starting talks at this session of the Aspen Mediterranean Initiative was the observation that the arduous and variegated evolution of the Mediterranean region needs to be viewed within the prevailing global context.
Education, welfare and the gender gap were at the top of the agenda of discussions at this international roundtable, which featured guest speaker Khalid Malik, Director of the UNDP’s Human Development Report Office. The Office’s 2014 report sets out to measure progress in long-term human development against three main areas of achievement: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living. Also taken into account are the capacity to enjoy equal opportunity of access, and to exercise the universal right to the same opportunities in life.
Launching discussions at this World Economy Conference was an acknowledgement by those in attendance that the recovery from the economic crisis of recent years has been particularly slow in historical terms, with the most recent figures confirming fears of a further possible slowdown. This global scenario was seen as a fortiori necessitating that growth be considered a top priority for Europe during Italy’s current 6-month-long presidency of the Council of the EU.
The opening premise of discussions at this International Conference was that scientific research is crucial to innovation, understood as both the discovery of new facts, data, or laws of nature, as well as knowledge with a direct technological application. Indeed, technology provides an essential bridge between science and society. As a demonstration of this, the participants pointed to the limitless practical applications of the World Wide Web (which had its origins at CERN, based on the development of the internet), citing it as a case where the industrial spinoff has been enormous.
Discussions at this 2-day event got underway with the observation that the Mediterranean Sea clearly connects Europe not just with North Africa, but also the Middle East, the Anatolian Peninsula, and the Persian Gulf. All these axes present opportunities for growth through greater interdependence, in spite of the current difficulties being experienced by European economies and the political uncertainty holding back those on the southern shores of the Mediterranean.
