The video conference preparing the groundwork for this international reunion, moderated by Garry Jacobs (CEO of the World Academy of Art and Science) was attended by Juri Engelbrecht (President of the Estonian Academy of Science, and former President of the Association of European Academies), Ernst von Weizsacker (Vice-president of the Club of Rome between 2012-2018), Alberto Zucconi (Director of the Institute for a Person-Centred Approach, Italy and Treasurer of the World Academy of Art and Science), Stefan Brunnhuber (Medical Director at the European Institute of Medicine, Salzburg), Frank Dixon (Sustainability and Systemic Change Advisor), Jerome Glenn (inventor and CEO of the Millennium Project), Ketan Patel (CEO and founder of Great Pacific Capital), Lennart Levi (emeritus professor, Stress Research Centre, University of Stockholm), Marco Vitiello (Department of Political Sciences at the University of Roma Tre), Rodolfo Fiorini (Professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan), Thomas Reuter (Professor at the Asia Institute of the University of Melbourne), Momir Djurovic (President of the Montenegrin Academy of Science) and Donato Kiniger-Passigli (WAAS Representative at the UN Office in Geneva).
The Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization was represented by its President, Professor Emil Constantinescu, Professor Remus Pricopie – Rector of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Chairman of the Institute’s Scientific Council and WAAS Fellow – and Professor Adrian Curaj, Director of the Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation and a member of the Institute’s Scientific Council and of the World Academy of Art and Science.
In his intervention, President Emil Constantinescu argued in favour of highlighting the role of the academic and research environment in managing the current situation, stressing that “the time has come for university professors and scientific researchers begin to highlight the attainable limits in the pursuit of progress. In a globalised world, the sole critical voice must come from the academic environment, uniquely qualified to tackle these ethical issues from multiple perspectives. Researchers are the only ones in service to truth, and not to political expediency or correctness. This is their moral responsibility to society at large, in an age of digital discovery which tends to nullify the human component of society and automatize our existence”. Moreover, rector Remus Pricopie specified that “we must consider these aspects, analyse their impact and weight their benefits, in order to remain grounded in reality, that we continue to be able to constructively criticize the existing policies of the state, and to develop new policies that can be taken up by global leadership in the future”.
The topics under discussion covered the outline of policy documents for the conference’s respective work groups, proposals for new members to join the former, reviews of drafts for work groups under creation, inviting new speakers and partners, including representatives of youth organizations, the publication of policy documents, the review of partners’ proposals, and the logistical planning of the event.
The Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization is an official partner of the World Academy of Art and Science in organizing the “Global Leadership for the 21st Century. Strategies for Transformative Global Leadership” International Conference.
