World Academy of Art and Science Promoting Leadership in Thought that Leads to Action June 2014 WAAS Newsletter Message from the Presidency When I was elected Presi- It also conducted three sessions at the Library of dent of the World Academy Alexandria’s conference on BioVision 2014 in April. of Art and Science at the This was followed by a landmark end of last year, I told my meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan colleagues: “It is indeed a on April 30th to promote great honour to be your collaboration between a dozen President, but it is also a organizations on a new“Human- great challenge”, especially Centred Paradigm” as reported to provide continuity to the at length in this newsletter. momentum given to our Baku Heitor Gurgulino de Souza Academy by Ivo Šlaus and In early May, WAAS co-sponsored Garry Jacobs during the last few years. But together with the Global Roundtable in the election of Winston Nagan as the new Chairman of Budapest and our first event in our Board of Trustees, in fact we have been able to signifi­ Latin America in many years, cantly enlarge and strengthen our collective leadership when we collaborated to host team. This is reflected in the reports in this newsletter. the XI International Colloquium Much has been accomplished, but much more still needs on “Global Crisis and Changes Brasilia to be done. For that we’ll need the collaboration of all of Paradigms: Current Issues”, from May 6-8th in Brasilia, our Fellows. Brazil. The first half of 2014 has been a This newsletter also reports on the expansion of the period of unprecedented activity WAAS network with the addition of four new WAAS for the World Academy of Art Centres and Partners. and Science (WAAS), with many I am also very pleased to welcome all new Fellows, firsts to be noted. Our initiative Associated Fellows and Junior Fellows to the World to found the World University Library of Alexandria Academy who were elected earlier this month and are Consortium (WUC) fructified in introduced in this newsletter. The elections also endorsed February with the first meeting of WUC charter members important amendments to the Academy’s By-laws to at the Library of Alexandria, in Egypt, as reported in improve the effectiveness of our dynamic management the March WUC newsletter. The establishment of WUC team. I specially wish to express my deep appreciation marks a major step in the effort of the Academy to reach to our colleagues of the Executive Committee and the out to other organizations and expand our network of continuing support of our Board of Trustees to the collaborating institutions. Academy’s increasing level of activities. This year marks WAAS also partnered with a critical landmark in our efforts to engage more of the Montenegrin Academy of our talented, dedicated members in leadership roles Sciences & Arts on a stimulating, in the Academy and we look forward to building ever- well­attended conference on expanding circles of leadership, active involvement and “Transition to a New Society” full engagement in the years to come. held in Podgorica, Montenegro, Heitor Gurgulino de Souza Podgorica in March. President, World Academy of Art & Science INSIDE THIS ISSUE BAKU CONFERENCE WAAS-CERN PARTNERSHIP & COLLOQUIUM by H. Schopper Meeting of New Paradigm Consortium Partners by I. Šlaus Reflections on the New Paradigm Project by A. Likhotal UPCOMING EVENTS Agenda of Work for New Paradigm Consortium by G. Jacobs WAAS-WUC COURSES AT IUC MASA CONFERENCE Transition to a New Society by M. Djurovic NEW PARTNERS BIOVISION CONFERENCE REPORT by L. Popovich SDEWES by N. Duić XI INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM IN BRASILIA GLOBAL ROUNDTABLE by I. Šlaus Global Crises & Paradigm Changes by J. Teixeira & H. de Souza NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS REPORT by N. Nešković & S. Bahia Founding & Mission of WAAS by W. Nagan YOUNG ENERGY FOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES by A. Krumberger NEW FELLOWS 2 Baku Conference Report Baku Preparatory Meeting of New Paradigm Consortium Partners The current socio-eco- followed by the Brasilia meeting in May 2014. TheClub of nomic­political paradigm Rome organized several conferences and actions, notably is unsustainable. It is “Change the Course” on the anniversary of the Titanic destroying natural, human disaster and a recent meeting in Castell de Castellet, and social capitals. A Spain. change of course is essen- All analyses clearly demonstrate the need for a major tial. The call to change the paradigm change. The change has to encompass social, current paradigm was ini- economic and political spheres. It has to be holistic. tiated by Aurelio Peccei All aspects have to be approached simultaneously and the founding of the and promptly, and should be human-centered. A new Club of Rome more than Ivo Šlaus paradigm maintains and preserves all valid aspects of the 40 years ago. It is now existing paradigm in the domain of their validity. These accepted by many leading institutions. conclusions have been reaffirmed by participants at the On April 30, 2014, the World Academy together with the Baku meeting. Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC) organized a Participants at the Baku meeting unanimously stressed meeting in Baku of organizations working on solutions to their readiness to continue to work together, forming the current global crisis in order to explore the possibility a consortium/alliance of individuals and organizations of forging a consortium of organizations to pool their (in case of organizations their respective leadership has complementary capabilities in a collaborative endeavor. to approve such an alliance) where each organization In addition to WAAS and NGIC, the meeting included through its uniqueness and specialty will organize representatives of Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, studies, research and activities aimed at formulating new Club of Madrid, Club of Rome, European Leadership paradigm and developing a strategy of achieving new Network, European Movement International, Future socio­economic­political paradigm. World Foundation, Green Cross International, Library of Alexandria, Partnership for Change, Pugwash and the Stakeholders will be actively involved in this strategic World University Consortium. Other organizations may change process and contribute to the betterment of also be invited to join this endeavor. their local and national communities, to a renaissance of scientific and educational excellence and to fulfill their This meeting follows six other WAAS conferences on core values and mission. the need for a New Paradigm in Human Development conducted over the past 15 months in Trieste, Geneva, Ivo Šlaus Alexandria, Washington, Ottawa and Podgorica and was Honorary President, World Academy of Art & Science Reflections on the New Paradigm Project Following the Baku meeting on the New Paradigm make more money out of Consortium, I would like to share some afterthoughts crises”) in formulating the that hopefully can bring us closer to an understanding Mission. of the challenges and difficulties involved in our Framework collaborative effort to formulate a New Paradigm of Human Development. The problem of resources constraints is obvious Project Mission and shared by all the par- First, we need to define what we mean by the term ‘New ticipants. Therefore I will Paradigm of Human Development’. Are we concerned leave it for the moment exclusively with the resource limitations of the current as the least controversial Alexander Likhotal economic model, “the collision with nature”? Or are we or “dispute charged”, and concerned with the broader issue of civilizational shifts? also because Club of Rome, WAAS and other networks Is our objective to evolve a comprehensive road map that have accumulated a lot of thinking on these matters. could provide a blueprint of steps and efforts needed However if we assume that our civilisation is now to adapt to the global challenges or to develop new experiencing a systemic crisis and entering into a new approaches to the problems of human development? One state, we perceive a pressing need for new concepts and of the challenges we will face is how to avoid the usual new categories adequate to facing this extraordinary dichotomies (technocratic versus humanistic, economic situation. We need to develop a new content­based versus developmental, doomsday alarmism versus “let’s vocabulary for the changing social context, for the Baku Conference Report 3 new model of social life. Presently we lack appropriate Today social dynamics are not limited to the economic terms and, therefore, are confined to existing models, aspect of the approaching global revolution. Global artificial constructs and familiar concepts, such as changes are ultimately determined by a new organisation the Post­industrial or Information Society, the End of of individual and social consciousness. These History, the New Barbarianism, the Clash of Civilisations, modifications produce a new typology of social activity, Globalisation, etc. political and economic practices, and so on. But first of all, Changes in the world’s political, social and legal order, such modifications result in the genesis of a new culture and the transformation of global “modus operandi” also and its active “protagonists”. And here, unfortunately, need to be examined. We are currently in a transition there has been much less thinking. Therefore, the easy period, in which the elements of a new, post-modern way – a small group drafting followed by a larger group world historically coexist with the realities of the draft upgrading – might not work. We will need first modern epoch. The system of international relations and to invent the thinking that is needed and find ways to international legal institutions is changing literally before collect or generate it from within our ranks or outside our our eyes. Numerous changes are occurring in the models networks. of social, economic, and political activity, in projections Another aspect of the goals problem is the target. of power and authority. The cultural landscape with its Shall we target decision-makers, legislators, general relevant “content structures” (democracy and liberalism public, or academia? Clearly the choice will dictate the for examples) is changing simultaneously.