14th Annual Conference Ars Musica – sacred music of Consultation on the future The Academia’s new website 2002 at Lisbon the Middle Ages of the Academia - how to use members’ area page 2 page 6 page 8 page 12 Academia Europaea ~19 88~ TheTreeNewsletter of Academia Europaea • Issue 18 • February 2003 15th Annual Conference Graz,Austria 11-13 September 2003 he 2003 Annual meeting will be starts on 12 September and ends on 13 As with previous conferences, members of held this year at the Karl-Franzens September.The programme has been the Academia will be invited to make a TUniversität in Graz. Professor divided into 4 sessions: conference donation of 75 Euros (or Siegfried Bauer (Graz) is leading a local equivalent in their local currency). organising team and programme 1 Human Genetics and Social Non-members will be asked to make a committee, which has put together a Development donation of 100 Euros towards the costs of fascinating programme and timetable of 1 Culture and Belief – The Essential the event. social events.The city of Graz is the Human? European Capital of Culture for 2003 1 Cognition Ad hoc conference sessions will be open to (http://www.graz03.at) and delegates will 1 Man – Earth – Cosmos members of the public. be treated to receptions and dinners courtesy of the City, Mayor and Governor Some of the confirmed speakers include: Discounted travel has been arranged with of the province of Styria. Robert Martin (Chicago), Georg Wick Austrian, Lauda and Tyrolean airlines.Ask (London), Gerald Wolf (Magdeburg), Peter your travel agent to contact these airlines The theme of the and to quote code reference APMO3. conference is “What makes Oefner (Palo Alto), Malcolm Jeeves (St us Human?” Andrews), Rudolf Flotzinger (Graz),Ted A detailed mailing will be sent to all Honderich (London), Martin Nowak members of the Academia and the The conference starts on 11 September, in (Princeton), Helmut Rauch (Vienna), programme, registration forms and other the late morning with Section meetings. In Martin Rees (Cambridge), Michael Rutter local tourist information will be posted the afternoon is the Annual Business (London). onto the Academia Website: meeting, followed by the opening www.acadeuro.org.A limited number of ceremony, ERASMUS lecture and Rooms in a range of local hotels have been travel bursaries will be available to assist presentation of Burgen Scholars – a big hit reserved and transport between venues will Academia Europaea members who are at the Lisbon meeting.The main conference be provided. resident in Non-EU and EFTA countries. ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROP EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADE ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROP EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADE ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROPAEA ACADEMIA EUROP E A E A E A E A E A 2 14th Annual Conference 2002: Lisbon, 9-11 October The Sciences and the Understanding of Risk: Policies for Public Trust and Well-being The full set of abstracts have been placed on the publications pages of the Academia website, together with the programme, participants lists and names of the Burgen Scholars for 2002 (see: www.acadeuro.org). Some of the specific papers that will appear in forthcoming issues of the European Review are: Whom can we Trust? – John Ziman (27, Little London Green, Oakley,Aylesbury, Bucks, HPl8 9QL, UK). E-mail: [email protected] People need socially accredited but disinterested experts to give them reliable advice about risks. Traditionally, this role has been performed by academics. But academia is coming increasingly under the influence of commercial and political interests. How can ‘postacademic’ science be shaped to sustain its vital role as an independent organ of civil society. Risks in Space – Arnold Wolfendale (Department of Physics, University of Durham, DH1 3LE, UK). E-mail:[email protected] The human species is beset by ‘risks’, one of which is related to its exposed position on the Earth as it travels through cosmic space.An examination is made of the major risks, those associated with cometary impact, with solar emissions and with the explosions of nearby stars. Estimates are given of the risks associated The Tower , Lisbon with trying to avoid their effects. Not surprisingly it is concluded that more work is necessary’. pwards of 150 participants who endeared themselves to the assembled at the conference distinguished audience by sticking rigidly to Risk Perception, Emotion and Policy: Ucentre of the Fundação Calouste their allotted three minutes of personal The case of Nuclear Technology – Gulbenkian to take part in the 15th annual introduction. Over the three days, the Lennart Sjoberg (Center for Risk Research, meeting of the Academia.The conference quality of the individual presentations and Stockholm School of Economics, was welcomed by the President of the the topicality of the theme of the meeting Stockholm, Sweden). Gulbenkian Foundation, Emilio Vilar, and ensured extensive local press coverage in E-mail: Lennart. [email protected] an opening address was given by his print, on radio and on the T.V.news. Nobel Excellency Fernandes Thomas, State Laureate Harold Kroto (Sussex University, This paper addresses the general question of the Secretary for Science, in Portugal. New UK) received the 2002 ERASMUS medal role of emotions in risk management, with an members of the Academia were welcomed and gave a highly individual lecture application to the siting of a repository for spent and the local organiser and Academia focusing on “Science and Doubt” and the nuclear fuel.Although it is true that such siting member Alex Quintanilha (IBMC, Porto), need to meet the challenges of “educating has been very difficult to carry out without introduced the ten 2002 Burgen scholars, to learn”. meeting with strong local opposition, there are Academia Europaea February 2003 3 Journalists are often blamed for producing scare Transparency, accountability and Left to right: Harold Kroto,Werner Rathmayer and Peter Day stories. It seems to have been forgotten that many, inclusivity are not going to solve all perhaps most, modern scare stories are based on our problems in handling risk – Derek scientific risk calculations, and that journalists are Burke (13, Pretoria Road, Cambridge, not trained in scaring the wits out of people in CB4 1HD,UK). that particular way.A more precise accusation E-mail: [email protected] might be that journalists are eager, unthinking and unquestioning conveyors of results from Over the last few years, the regulatory system for scientific risk calculations. GM foods and crops in Europe has ground to a halt because of the difficulty in reaching Calculation of risk has become an important agreement. Regulators, in struggling to overcome research product; a product fitting nicely into the distrust and suspicion that has greeted GM some exceptions in recent Swedish experience. conventional journalistic story-telling, but the soya in particular, have introduced a new mantra: This recent experience constitutes an occasion for concept of risk tends to dilute value disagreement transparency, accountability and inclusivity. I reconsidering the received message from risk and conflict of interests into seemingly purely argue in this paper that this mantra, although a perception research since the 1970’s.This factual issues, leaving little room for political considerable advantage on what has gone before, research has purportedly demonstrated a very debate. Moreover, the cargo attitude of journalism will not solve all our problems; basically because strong impact of emotional processes on risk is at conflict with the journalistic ideal of critical such procedures can only partially deal with the attitudes, which in turn is supposed to imply investigation and analysis on behalf of the public loss of trust and the climate of suspicion that we that these attitudes are rigid and unchangeable. to stimulate common deliberation in the public now working in. Some suggestions are made to However, when this assertion is looked at more sphere.Apparently, the production of scientific as to what we should do next. closely it is found that a number of questionable knowledge is excluded from the public sphere. assumptions and overly strong generalizations Regarding discussions on science and technology The meeting has already had its mark with have been made.The central role played by the journalists will have to enquire into aspects of a “Risk” related project proposal by one of concept of “dread” is particularly important. facts, values and social interests to live up to the the speakers (Prof. Ragnar Lofstedt, UCL, Dread, or a “gut reaction”, is by no means ideal of investigation on behalf of the public. London) receiving support from the demonstrated in the traditional selection of Several obstacles along this path can be Academia’s ‘New Initiatives Fund’ to enable hazard attributes, which contain such identified, one of them being the a preparatory “community meeting” to take dimensions as concern for future generations or commercialisation of journalism in the media- place in March/April 2003. voluntariness. Such dimensions may have a industry and of scientific research in the knowledge-industry. Universities, in the search for relationship to emotional processes but they are The social events were very enjoyable. a meaning of life, might consider providing a not emotional per se and their emotional Delegates were treated to two receptions home for independent, reflexive journalism on significance remains to be documented.The and an excellent dinner, with traditional science in a social context. items that do measure emotional reactions Fado group singing, and a relaxing tour of directly, by asking about fear and anxiety, are the sights of Lisbon, including a surprise Literary Representations of Risk: found in data on nuclear waste repository siting, return to childhood, with a visit to the Terror, Crime and Punishment – to have only weak influence on policy attitudes.