"Shaping the Futures through Intergenerational Fairness” is an online dialogue organised by the EU Policy Lab at the Joint Research Centre (European Commission) in partnership with the Center of Foresight and Artificial intelligence at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) Center for Foresight and Artificial Intelligence.

The dialogue seeks to connect ongoing international efforts related to the UN Pact for the Future and its Declaration on Future Generations with regional and cross-institutional approaches aimed at integrating foresight, long-term responsibility, and intergenerational equity into public policy.

This online dialogue is conceived as an exchange of ideas across cultural contexts on intergenerational fairness, drawing on the European Commission’s Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness and ICESCO’s foresight-driven agenda for anticipatory and inclusive governance across its Member States.  

Join
The online event will be accessible via this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89849664062?pwd=MMOX9TzO6TeJCUFa1SWYakQbB0mtI3.1

Looking forward to seeing you online and continuing the dialogue to support the Pact for the Future and intergenerational fairness globally.

Read more about our work on intergenerational fairness 

Programm

13.30-13.50 Setting the Scene
Why intergenerational fairness matters now, Salim M. AlMalik, Director General (ICESCO)

Why this conversation matters globally, Jolita Butkeviciene, Director Innovation in Science & Policymaking (JRC, EC)

The role of academia and intergenerational leadership in shaping long-term futures, Dr Ghadeeer Kayal, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (PMU)

13.50-15.00 Plenary I: The State of Intergenerational Fairness
UN Declaration on Future Generations - Themba Kalua, Director Pact for the Future Implementation at the Executive Office of the Secretary General (UN)

EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness - Erica Bol, Foresight Policy Analyst at the EU Policy Lab (Joint Research Centre, EC)

ICESCO’s foresight vision - Kais Hammam, Head of Center for Foresight and Artificial Intelligence (ICESCO)

15.00-16.15 Plenary II: Open Dialogue: What can we explore together
Thomas Hemmelgarn, Head of EU Policy Lab (EC)

Cat Tully, Managing Director (School of International Futures)

Kais Hammami, Head of Centre for Foresight & AI (ICESCO)

Nouzha Chekrouni, Senior Fellow (Policy Center for the New South)

Including online engagement

Moderated by: Clare Stark, Head of Foresight (UNESCO)

16.15-16.45 Thinking beyond our time: a cultural reflection on intergenerational fairness
Thinking in Generations: Expanding the Horizon of Human Responsibility
by Michael Münker, Founder (Milliongenerations Foundation)

A Reflection on Time, Responsibility and Generations by Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor Emeritus of French and Philosophy (Columbia University)

16.45-17.00 Looking ahead

The European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) annual conference will be held in Brussels on Thursday 13 November. As in previous years, the conference will be co-hosted by the European Commission and the European Parliament.

At a time of global upheaval and uncertainty, this conference will focus on the future and the strategic choices facing the European Union as it charts its own course in the coming decade and more. Decision-makers are frequently faced with multiple and sometimes overlapping crises to which they are required to find quick solutions. The need to think about the longer-term and how to build our collective resilience to deal with shocks and unforeseeable threats - to be able to 'stay the course' - has rarely been more pressing.

The speakers at this 12th annual ESPAS Conference will aim to shed light on some of the fundamental challenges Europe will face in the fields of technology, geopolitics, democracy and intergenerational fairness. And together we will explore possible scenarios for charting a course towards 2040. How can the European Union harness transformative technologies such as AI? Where should it position itself in a new world order, and how can we shape it? How can European democracy be revitalised and societies respond to creeping authoritarianism? How can we build a new intergenerational fairness agenda?

These and other epoch-defining challenges decision-makers face cannot simply be overcome using short-term fixes. Politicians are increasingly looking for anticipatory, longer-term thinking that offers them pathways to improved policy outcomes. Foresight, with its inherent ability to harness collective intelligence and promote long-term thinking, plays an increasingly important role in supporting European policy-makers to make the right strategic choices.

Our aim in ESPAS is to help European Union policy-makers prepare better for the shocks and opportunities that come our way, but also to offer a structured approach with practical tools to look beyond today's challenges. This annual ESPAS conference with leading political figures, civil society representatives, policy experts and foresight practitioners offers a unique platform to bring foresight and policy-making together in a European context. It also provides a significant and timely opportunity to explore new ideas for Europe's future, and to help shape its priorities for the coming decades.

👉 See the programme