European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Activity Report 2007
Thomas Schauer
European Support
Centre
Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Activity Report 2007
European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Thomas Schauer
Tuchlauben 8/15, 1010 Vienna, Austria
phone: ++43-1-5125770 fax: ++43-1-5125770-10
http://www.clubofrome.at
E-mail: europa clubofrome.at
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Contents
Page
Chairman’s Preface 04
1. Life in Cyberspace - The Formation of Social Capital in Virtual Worlds
Symposium in Vienna in Co-operation with the German EU-Presidency 05
2. The Future of Europe - Sustainable Development and Economic Growth?
Symposium in Vienna in Co-operation with the Portuguese EU-Presidency 07
3. Support for the Annual Conference of the Club of Rome in Madrid
Human Development: Challenges and Opportunities 09
4. Co-operation with National Associations: Germany, Croatia, Slovenia,
Hungary, Romania, Belgium and the Catalan Group of the Spanish Chapter 10
5. Support of the Aurelio Peccei Lecture in Rome 12
6. The European Environmental Education Project 13
7. Work on Agrobiodiversity: Co-operation with the Georgian Association 15
8. Conference: The Future of Work: Shaping of Globalisation, a Key Challenge 17
9. Symposium: Climate Change - Risk or Chance for the Insurance Industry? 18
10. Publication of the Dossiers (ed. Pentti Malaska and Matti Vapaavuori)
in Co-operation with the Finnish Association for the Club of Rome 19
11. Publication "Future Oriented Studies" by Władysław R. Świtalski
in Co-operation with the Polish Association for the Club of Rome 21
12. Electronic Services for the National Associations 22
13. List of the European National Associations of the Club of Rome 24
14. Publications by the European Support Centre in 2007 26
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Chairman’s Preface
Year 2007 marked major advances in the activities of the European Nation-
al Associations of the Club of Rome and in their collaboration with the
European Support Centre (ESC). The ESC promotes the mission of the
Club in Europe by sustaining the work of the European National Associ-
ations. They enhance citizen participation in the spirit of the Club at the
national level. The ESC has functioned as the Regional Centre of the Club
for Europe since 1999.
This report highlights the main activities of the European National Associations, conducted in
collaboration with the ESC, during the year of 2007. The activities have taken various forms, notably
joint projects, international meetings and conferences, publications and information exchange. Many
activities have attracted the attention of international and local media. The ESC has also developed a
number of services in order to ease the work of the European National Associations. Contacts have
also been maintained with overseas National Associations. Many members of the Club and tt30 have
also been involved. Of specific importance was the continuation of the events organised in
collaboration with the two EU Presidencies of 2007 in Vienna.
Due to the active interest shown by the European National Associations, we were able to witness the
praising words of our Co-President Eberhard von Koerber in his closing statement to the Annual
Conference of the Club in Madrid in September 2007, when he emphasised the positive experiences
from the networking of the European National Associations and stressed their role in the Club,
protesting against undue centralism in the Club.
The European conferences of the National Associations, where the representatives of all the European
Associations come together and learn from each others' activities, are usually organised every second
year. Hence, preparations were made in 2007 for the next European Conference, due to be organised
in Bucharest, Romania, in May 2008.
It has even been more important to observe a major transition in public atmosphere from ignorance to
recognition of the growing risks of safe future for the globe and the humankind in a growing number
of European countries. The final trigger to this transition is the sudden acceptance of the risks of
climate change. With these developments, the “problematique” side of the mission of the Club seems
to have penetrated both the media and the people in many countries, while a stronger emphasis needs
now to be placed on the issues of the “resolutique”.
With a view to the latter, it is increasingly essential for the Club to find means to influence changes in
the economic doctrine, which presently favours extremely short-term considerations in business
decisions. The traditional industrial society is rapidly breaking up in Europe, and the development of
new sustainable economic models will call for collaboration of the business sector with the political
leaders, with an increasing social responsibility. This challenge will open up new opportunities for the
Club and the civil society in general to bring up fresh ideas for implementation.
I have great pleasure in acknowledging the significant contributions of the European National
Associations and the ESC team in Vienna to the fulfilment of the mission of the Club in Europe.
Thanks are due to Dr. Thomas Schauer, Director of the ESC, for the compilation of the present report.
The ESC obtained financial support mainly from the Republic of Austria, the City of Vienna and Bank
Austria Creditanstalt, which is most gratefully acknowledged. All feedback, including remarks,
comments and suggestions, to the present annual report and the work of the ESC in general are highly
welcome.
Esko Kalimo, Chairman of the Board, European Support Centre
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
1. Life in Cyberspace - The Formation of Social Capital in Virtual Worlds
Symposium in Vienna in Co-operation with the German EU-Presidency
In co-operation with the Austrian Chapter and the German EU-Presidency, a symposium
"Life in Cyberspace" was held on June 26th in Vienna. After co-operations with the Austrian
and the Finnish EU-Presidencies, this was the third event with a corresponding partnership.
Social Capital is the sum of formal and informal contacts between humans, enterprises and
organisations. Today we can communicate within seconds with partners at almost any place
on the globe and we become citizens of global virtual communities. This increased net-
working activity will result in an increase of social capital. But there are also new questions
related to the quality of the electronic contacts, to codes of conduct and ethics. And we do not
yet know enough about the consequences of virtual life for our real life.
Website of the symposium: http://www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/cyberspace/
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Co-operation partners of the event were also the Austrian
Ministry for Education, Art and Culture, the Austrian
Ministry for Economy and Labour, the Foundation Digital
Chances and the International Centre for Information
Ethics.
The symposium "Life in Cyberspace" discussed among
others:
►How does the information society with its new networking
Peter Zöllner, President of the Aus- facilities support the formation of social capital?
trian Chapter of the Club of Rome, ►How are the new virtual contacts related to real life?
opened the symposium.
►How stable are online communities and which prerequi-
sites must be fulfilled for successful networks that en-
hance social capital?
►How can the new media contribute to the establishment of
values, do they challenge traditional ethical and cultural
standards?
►Which empirical data on social capital and the new
networks are available, and in which areas there is special
need for research?
►Can enterprises support the formation of social capital in
Ernst Gehmacher, Member of the the information society?
Board of the Austrian Chapter,
presented empirical results on social
capital and Internet use.
Among the speakers of the conference
were also Peter Fleissner (International
Centre for Information Ethics), Jutta Croll
(Foundation Digital Chances), Martin
Bredl (Telekom Austria), Heidrun Stroh-
meyer (BMUKK), Hans Peter Heitzinger
(BMWA) and Anton Fricko (IBM).
Moderators were Michaela Moritz and
Siegfried Sellitsch (Austrian Chapter of
the Club of Rome).
The proceedings of the conference are
both available as paper copy (ISBN:
978-3-929118-66-7 - please order copies
free of charge from the European Support
Centre) and via the Internet for download
on the website:
www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/ cyberspace/
Title page of the proceedings "Life in Cyberspace"
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
2. The Future of Europe - Sustainable Development and Economic Growth?
Symposium in Vienna in Co-operation with the Portuguese EU-Presidency
The event in Vienna on September 12-13, 2007 was organized in co-operation with the Polish
Association for the Club of Rome, the Portuguese EU-Presidency, the City of Vienna and the
Lebensministerium. It was hosted by the Scientific Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences
in Vienna.
The conference discussed, what the future of Europe will look like. Will it be a common
future or will there be different futures in old member states, new member states and those
countries which are left outside the European Union? Will Europe take up the challenge of the
limits to growth of resource consumption? Will it be the continent where decoupling of
further growth of GDP from resource use can be achieved? Or will there be no future for an
ageing continent with a shrinking and less and less innovative population?
Website of the symposium: http://www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/future/
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Several National Association of the Club of Rome gathered on the occasion of the "Future of
Europe" symposium in Vienna and joined also the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the
Austrian Chapter. The Associations represented were: Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Georgia,
Hungary, The Netherlands, Poland and Romania.
The programme showed an interdisciplinary approach to the complex problematique of the
European challenges:
► Preparing Europe for a Successful Future with More Heat and Less Oil (Dennis Meadows),
► Monitoring the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development - Experiences in a New Member
State of the EU (Calin Georgescu),
► Measuring Sustainability and Economic Growth in Europe (Friedrich Hinterberger),
► Achieving Sustainable Growth. Will New Europe Fly or Crawl in the 21st Century Global
Knowledge Economy? (Krzysztof Rybinski),
► Economy and Ecology in Eastern Europe (Medea Abashidze and Eleonora Abashidze),
► Hungary and the Perspective on Sustainability (Krisztina Ónodi),
► Eurofuturology 2050 (Antoni Kuklinski)
► Opportunities in Futures Studies for Europe
(Réka Várnagy)
► From Strategic Thinking to a Vision for
Europe (Pentti Malaska and Karin Holstius)
Paul Lendvai (Austrian Chapter) and Ivo Slaus
(Croatian Association) were active as moder-
ators.
The proceedings of the symposium have been
published in co-operation with the Scientific
Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences in
Vienna.
The volume is both available as a paper copy
(ISBN: 978-3-9502472-1-3 - please order via the
European Support Centre) and via the Internet
for download on the conference website:
http:// www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/future/ Title page of the proceedings
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
3. Support for the Annual Conference of the Club of Rome in Madrid
Human Development: Challenges and Opportunities
The European Support Centre co-operated with the Club of Rome International during the
Annual Conference of the Club in Madrid. The ESC organized the representation of the
European National Associations with a books exhibition. In addition, the ESC had the
responsibility for the website of the Annual Conference.
The topic of the conference was "Human Development: Challenges and Opportunities". The
year 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of Aurelio Peccei’s publication of "La Calidad
Humana" (“The Human Quality”), one of the first Reports to The Club of Rome. From this
work emerged the central themes that have formed the basis around which the debates of the
Club of Rome have developed. The publication refers to the problems of non-sustainable
growth, the necessity of a new governance of political systems and socio-economic structures,
as well as the promises and threats posed by scientific and technical advances.
Website of Club of Rome Annual Conference http://www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/madrid/
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
4. Co-operation with National Associations: Germany, Croatia, Slovenia,
Hungary, Belgium and the Catalan Group of the Spanish Chapter
4.1. Co-operation with the German Association
The German Association of the Club of Rome has launched the "Club of Rome Schools"
initiative. Club of Rome schools are committed to include themes related to sustainable
development into their curricula.
Representatives of the "Club of Rome Schools in Preparation" organized a networking
conference in Kassel. The schools are preparing changes in their pedagocical concepts in
order to help their students meet the challenges of the future. After being welcomed by Max
Schön (President of the German Association) and Uwe Möller (Secretary-General, CoR
International), CoR member Franz Josef Radermacher gave a speech on the challenges of
globalisation.
The European Support Centre presented the European Environmental Education project (see
page 13) and there was an agreement on a co-operation. The contents of the EEE initiative
will be made available to the Club of Rome Schools network.
4.2. Co-operation with the Slovenian and Croatian Association
In December 2007, the ESC Director visited the National Associations in Slovenia and
Croatia. The Associations discussed possible co-operations and agreed to organize together
with the ESC a conference "Europe after Lisbon - Intertwining Sustainability and Competi-
tivenes" in Ljubljana in spring 2008.
Competitiveness has been a key concept of the Lisbon strategy and efforts to strengthen
European competitiveness influence many political measures - in the economy as well as in
the education system.
The conference "Europe after Lisbon" will discuss the long-term aspects of competition and
competitiveness. How can competition be directed towards achieving sustainable develop-
ment on the European and the global scale?
4.3. European Network for Globalisation Studies launched in Fürstenfeld
Together with Endre Kiss (Hungarian Association of the Club of Rome), the European
Support Centre was involved in the founding of the European Network for the Study of
Globalisaton. The first international conference was held in Fürstenfeld on May 31st, 2007,
hosted by the Centre for Intercultural Studies.
The work of the network is intended to be primarily oriented towards the development of
theories. These theories will aid in the exploration and refinement of the understanding of the
multifaceted phenomenon called globalisation that has come to define the contemporary
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
world system. The group will analyse and criticise existent theories of globalisation, build
upon their strengths and transgress their weaknesses. Due to this group’s approach, the work
will be qualitatively distinct from the continuation or extension of this field within mono-
disciplinary contexts. The group has an interdisciplinary composition and the founding
members have extensive experience in trans-disciplinary research. The group pursues
theoretical research exclusively from interdisciplinary points of departure.
4.4 Co-operation with the Romanian Association
Preparation of the conference of the European National Associations in 2008 started in 2007.
During a meeting with representatives of the Romanian Association in Bucharest, the partners
discussed the theme of the event and agreed on a time schedule and on the distribution of
work during the preparation. The ESC committed to prepare the necesary online services and
to take responsibilty for the administration of the speakers and the representatives of the
National Associations, whereas the Romanian partners will concentrate on the local
preparations.
4.5 Belgium: Co-operation with the Brussels-EU Chapter
The Brussels-EU Chapter has been organizing Aurelio Peccei Lectures for several years. On
the occasion of a visit to one of the lectures, it was agreed that the European Support Centre
would set up an Internet discussion forum for the lectures, so that the participants of the
events could continue the exchange of ideas after the lecture. The ESC staff programmed a
new and forum which is easily accessible. In addition, the European Support Center continued
to maintain the website of the Brussels-EU Chapter in 2007.
4.6. Spain: Think Tank 30 Workshop with Dennis Meadows in Barcelona
On March 28th, 2007, the Catalan Group and the ESC invited members of the Think Tank 30
Groups in Spain to a workshop with Dennis Meadows in Barcelona. The programme included
both a presentation of the Update of the "Limits to Growth" and practical exercises which
outlined the links between sustainable development and constructive teamwork.
The members of the Catalan Think Tank 30 Group introduced their project on global
governance. The results are available as books in Catalan and Spanish. Among the
participants of the workshop were also members of the Catalan and of the Valencia Group of
the Spanish Chapter.
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
5. Support of the Aurelio Peccei Lecture in Rome
The Annual Aurelio Peccei Lecture in Rome was held on April 17th, 2007. Norman Myers
discussed the challenge of maintaining biodiversity. Myers was among the first scientists to
alert the global community to tropical deforestation, an impending mass extinction, and
environmental security. Norman Myers was introduced by Roberto Peccei (President of the
Fondazione Aurelio Peccei). The presentation was followed among others by a contribution
by Gianfranco Bologna (Secretary-General of the Fondazione Aurelio Peccei).
The European Support Centre provided assistance to the event. It has set up a website about
Aurelio Peccei, which offers biographical information and an outline of the history of the
Club of Rome ( see http://www.clubofrome.at/peccei/ ) and has processed a video from the
early times of the Club. Eleonora Barbieri Masini happened to discover a tape with an
interview of Aurelio Peccei and Dennis Meadows from 1973. The text was translated and
English subtitles were added. At the Aurelio Pecccei Lecture, the video was presented on a
screen and the European Support Centre organized also a books exhibition with Aurelio
Peccei's and the Club of Rome's publications.
Website about Aurelio Peccei http://www.clubofrome.at/peccei/
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6. The European Environmental Education Project
The next twenty years of the century will be decisive. Decisive with regard to the solution of
the main problems of our planet, already clearly discernible today, problems which need to be
resolved as the population steadily increases: adequate food supplies, a healthy and worth-
while living environment for everyone, and the opportunity to be an accepted member of the
global community are the key areas that need to be secured. Sustainability and the environ-
ment are issues that transcend regional, national and continental borders: they concern every-
one and every part of our global community. We have a lot of knowledge about the destruc-
tion of the environment which is going on and in many countries there is a high environ-
mental awareness - but not yet enough and there is not yet enough action.
How can we manage the incredible increase of resource consumption that will arise from
further economic growth and larger parts of the world population having Western living
standards? Environmental education will be an important tool. The forthcoming generation,
its representatives being school children and students, is the main target group for measures
aimed at raising environmental awareness.
There are many reasons for the importance of the educational sector related to sustainable
development: For example, the principal opinion shapers for the forthcoming generation and,
consequently, those capable of bringing about a change of awareness within the population at
large are teachers and professors. And on the other hand the young generation has influence
on the generation of parents, for example when they remind them to separate waste.
But how to reach the target groups? Information should flow easily in the Internet Age; we
are flooded every day with bits and bytes. However, finding useful information is not easy.
Therefore the European Support Centre and the Austrian Chapter of the Club of Rome started
the initiative "European Environmental Information" (EEE, http://www.eeeprojects.net)
which is based on the idea of a network. The EEE initiative aims at the increase of awareness
for our major environmental problems by fostering the exchange of ideas on environmental
education. An online database has been created that presents information from almost all
European countries. It includes today the largest European online collection of environmental
education projects.
The website makes it possible to include environmental education projects in a database and
to sort them automatically according to various criteria:
► the thematic focus of the initiative, such as water, energy, waste, agriculture, etc,
► the age of the target group - children, teens and adults,
► the country of origin.
The website was continuously filled and included 300 projects in December 2007. The
projects are represented by a short abstract, an image and an extended description in English,
which is put online by the ESC staff after translation of the original content (most project
descriptions are available only in the language of the country of their origin). Contact data and
external links are included in the EEE database as well.
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
During Club of Rome events, the EEE initiative is presented by videos that introduce
individual projects, and there were several invitations to present the initiative at conferences:
► At the conference "Challenges of Climate Change – global and local strategies to save the
planet" (Warsaw, April 19th, 2007), organized by the Heinrich Boell Foundation in co-
operation with the European Commission, a presentation was given with the title "Educa-
tion for Sustainable Development", which demonstrated, how the EEE project is embedded
in the broader frameworks of awareness building and regulatory approaches.
► At the conference "e-Learning in a New Europe, Outcomes and Details" (Eisenstadt, 4. Oct
2007), the EEE project was presented in the keynote speech "Lernen, um zu überleben".
The EEE-initiative has been kindly supported by the City of Vienna and by Bank Austria
Creditanstalt.
The website of the European Environmental Education (EEE) Initiative: http://www.eeeprojects.net
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7. Work on Agrobiodiversity: Co-operation with the Georgian Association
The project is a co-operation of the Georgian Association of the Club of Rome, the Georgian
Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Tbilisi State University (Department of Ecology) and
the European Support Centre of the Club of Rome. It had been started in late 2005 and was
continued in 2007.
Principal Aspects of Agricultural Biodiversity
Even though the term symbiosis would not be used scientifically correctly if applied to the
relation between agricultural plants and the human beings, they are living in a mutual
dependency which resembles to organisms of different species which have formed com-
munities. Humans cannot survive without plants and agricultural plants cannot survive with-
out humans. The latter makes agricultural biodiversity a unique feature: Usually, wildlife is
threatened by extinction because biotopes are being reduced in size or disappear, whereas if
humans left the ecological systems in peace, most of the species would survive (at least within
the time scale of a human life). Agricultural biodiversity is different: Agricultural plants
cannot survive if they are just left without care. They need active support by humans.
Agri"culture" defines a natural system which became part of the human civilization. A high
diversity of agricultural plants is essential for the survival of mankind. We are living in a
permanent struggle with pests that threaten our cultivars and the risk of damage gets lower if
the amount of species and varieties is higher, a high diversity increases the probability that
one of the cultivars would be resistant towards a new plant disease.
The Trends in Agricultural Biodiversity
The number of higher plant species existing on Earth is estimated to be 300,000 - 500,000.
About 250,000 species have been described scientifically so far and about 30,000 species
have proven to be edible. However, humankind has cultivated only about 7,000 species.
Today we are in a situation in which only 30 different species are used to produce the
nutritional needs for the world population, and wheat, corn and rice alone provide 50% of the
calories. Not only is the low number of species used for agriculture a problem but also the
varieties of these cultivated species have been reduced significantly in the last century.
Lowering of diversity can have heightened risks associated with crop failure. Some figures
demonstrate the loss of agricultural biodiversity: 10,000 wheat varieties were documented in
China in 1949, but by 1970 their number had been reduced to 1,000. Between 1804 and 1904
there were 7,000 varieties of apples cultivated in the United States. 86% of them do no longer
exist. In Mexico 80% of the corn varieties have disappeared since 1930.
Agricultural Biodiversity in Georgia
The Caucasus Region is a hot spot both of natural and agricultural plant biodiversity. Spatial
separation made it possible that in close vicinity both natural evolution and human culture
took different directions of development. However, the richness is disappearing. Global
competition is reaching even farmers in the remotest regions on the globe - they can't help
planting just those crops which produce the highest yields. Investment in diversity which
secures long-term survival is not rewarded by the market.
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
The Project "Agricultural Biodiversity in Georgia" has two aims:
► It intends to raise the awareness for the problematique both in Georgia and in wider
Europe. Therefore, the project will have an educational component within the European
Environmental Education (EEE) Initiative.
► It is doing a scientific assessment of present agricultural plant biodiversity in Georgian
villages and will present information on the varieties which are under cultivation.
The project is carried out within the framework of the Georgian Association of the Club of
Rome. Involved are the Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Academician Shota
Chalaganidze, Member of the Georgian Association of the Club of Rome and President of the
Academy), the Tbilisi State University, (Dr. Eleonora Abashidze, Member of the Georgian
Association of the Club of Rome) and the European Support Centre of the Club of Rome. In-
formation about the project which demonstrates not only the usefulness of the plants but also
their beauty is available online on the project website.
Project website http://www.clubofrome.at/varieties/
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8. Conference "The Future of Work: Shaping of Globalisation as a Key
Challenge"
The event was organized in November 2007 in co-operation with the Austrian Chapter of the
Club of Rome and the City of Vienna (Wiener Vorlesungen).
Europe is getting more and more under pressure. As a consequence of globalisation, labour is
transferred more and more to other regions of the World. Major forces of this trend are the
setup of global networking and communication infrastructures by help of information
technology. It is obvious that this trend will further continue. At the same time, the world-
wide transfer of capital and knowledge is accelerating. All this is creating not only a threat for
working places in the developed countries, the social systems are threatened as well.
Cub of Rome member Franz Josef Radermacher was introduced by Siegfried Sellitsch and
Hubert Christian Ehalt. Around 500 participants followed afterwards a lively discussion
moderated by Michaela Moritz.
More information is available from the website http://www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/arbeit/
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9. Symposium: Climate Change, Risk or Chance for the Insurance Industry
The symposium was organized in Vienna in co-operation with the "Österreichische Gesell-
schaft für Versicherungsfachwissen" and Allianz.
Austria - the country of the lemon trees? At least in the past years this vision seemed not to be
so far away. Extraordinary hot summers gave an impression of the possible impact of climate
change on our life.
The conference was introduced by Siegfried Sellitsch. In a keyonote sppeech, Helga Kromp-
Kolb presented statistical data which did not leave any doubt: climate change has started.
Peter Novak presented a risk study which outlined the possible consequences of climate
change for the insurance industry.
More information is available from the website http://www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/klima/
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10. Publication of the Dossiers (ed. Pentti Malaska and Matti Vapaavuori)
in Co-operation with the Finnish Association for the Club of Rome
In February 2007 the European Support Centre and
the Finnish Association published the "Dossiers", a
collection of documents from the early times of the
Club of Rome. The Dossiers illustrate its spirit and its
activities and are a flashlight on a time when the fact
that there are limits to growth on our planet was seen
rather as an exotic view than as a matter of fact.
The Dossiers have been edited by Pentti Malaska and
Matti Vapaavuori.
Pentti Malaska has been a member of the Club of
Rome since its early times. As a pioneer of scenario
approach and visionary management and logics of
futures thinking he developed futures research as a
new scientific discipline.
Matti Vapaavuori has been participating in the work
Title page of the publication of the Club of Rome group in Finland for a long time.
The Dossiers outline the launch and activity of the Club from
1965 to 1984. As originally agreed upon with Aurelio Peccei
some key papers had been collected already for the Helsinki
conference in 1984. The new Dossiers are a re-edition of the
1984 issue with some additions to and omissions from the
previous material as agreed upon with Alexander King, one of
the co-founders of the Club:
► ‘The Challenge of 1970s for the world of today’, is written
by Aurelio Peccei and it stems from the times of preexi-
tence of the Club (1965); it triggered the original impetus
that led Aurelio Peccei, Alexander King and Jermen Gvi-
shiani to come together and start discussions about the pre-
dicament of humankind, from which the Club then emerged.
Pentti Malaska
► ‘The New Threshold’, is an “unofficial” document of the
Club, i.e. a statement by the Executive Committee (1973).
► In ‘A Case Study of Institutional Innovation’ Alexander King gives a glimpse of the early
history of the Club up to 1978.
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
► In 1972 the first report to the Club of Rome ‘The Limits to Growth’ was made public; it
became most influential worldwide as a longterm futures appraisal, and its message of
warnings and recommendations penetrated all social and economic strata and even the
West-East or North-South ideological barriers in the world; the results, updated by the
authors, are still vividly debated thirty years later. The ‘Commentary to The Limits to
Growth’ by the Executive Committee (1972) is made available in the Dossiers.
► The ‘Agenda for the End of the Century’, Peccei wrote
in the hospital only a few days before his passing away.
► The paper ‘Reaffirmation of a Mission’ is a statement
by Alexander King (1984) as President of the Club
following the Helsinki meeting.
► In ‘The Launch of a Club’ Alexander King elaborated
the Club’s activities and role.
► ‘A Rebellion Against Ignorance’ by Pentti Malaska, is a
commemoration of the life's work of Aurelio Peccei.
Matti Vapaavuori
The layout and the production of the Dossiers were done by the European Support Centre.
The paper copy is produced on demand, the online version can be downloaded from the ESC
website ( http://www.clubofrome.at/archive/ ) or from the website of the Finnish Association
for the Club of Rome ( http://www.clubofrome.fi ). The paper version can be ordered from the
European Support Centre (print on demand).
" I consider the Club of Rome first of all an exciting
adventure of the spirit - the exploration and discovery
of man's condition in this age of his global empire.
At a time of ever-expanding knowledge when we know
incredibly much about so many things, we know
incredibly little about our own changed condition.
If the Club of Rome may be credited with any merit,
it is to have been the first to rebel against this well
nigh suicidal ignorance. "
Aurelio Peccei
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11. Publication "Future Oriented Studies" by Władysław R. Świtalski
in Co-operation with the Polish Association for the Club of Rome
The publication "Future Oriented Studies" by
Władysław Richard Świtalski concentrates on
exploring the seldom hitherto addressed issues
that revolve around the premises and method-
ology adopted by the research team commis-
sioned by the Club of Rome to study the wide
and long term implications of growth.
It stresses the innovative features of the
applied models and points to the advantages
the system dynamics has over the traditional
approaches towards growth modeling.
The publication concludes with suggestions
concerning the possible extensions of the
model, to render it more realistic.
Title page of the publication
Prof. Świtalski holds a Ph.D. from the University of
Warsaw. Shortly after he presented his thesis on lan-
guages and models in economics, he came across Jay
W. Forrester's World Dynamics (1971). The book
greatly influenced the fresh doctor's way of thinking.
When Limits to Growth reached him in a printed form
(1973), Świtalski was certain that the future of
modelling of complex systems rests with true dynamic
models. Since then this conviction continued to
accompany his research, teaching and writing.
The publication is available as a paper copy from the
European Support Centre (print on demand). Władysław Richard Świtalski
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
12. Electronic Services for the National Associations
The News Service
The news service, which had been established on the website of the ESC, has become an
effective tool for mutual information. The main purpose of the service is to report about
activities of the National Associations of the Club of Rome and of the European Support
Centre. The service announces events, reports about conferences, informs about changes
among the leadership of the National Associations and promotes publications by the members
which are related to Club of Rome themes.
The E- Mail Newsflash
The ESC is editing a newsflash as a
service for members of the National
Associations. The newsflash mail is
equipped with direct links to the
website news section where further
info on individual items is available for
download.
The European Support Centre received
positive feedbacks on the newsflash. It
includes a section with publications
(articles in journals as well as books or
project reports). The criterion of
selection is the relation of the content
to the mission of the Club of Rome and
the world problematique.
Altogether, in 2006, there had been
published 9 editions of the newsflash,
in 2007 the number increased to 15
editions, which shows the increasing
popularity and the growing number of
contributions to the service.
View of the newsflash
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Website Creation and Maintenance
In 2007, the European Support Centre has been maintaining the websites of several National
Associations. Among them are the websites of the Brussels-EU Chapter and the website of
the Argentinian Association. USACOR, whose website had also been programmed by the
ESC, manages the website independently. Also, Brazil has started own activities. The website
which had been prepared by the ESC in English is now complementing the website which the
Brazilian Chapter has set up in parallel in Portuguese.
http://www.clubofrome.at/cor-eu/ http://www.clubofrome.at/brasil/
http://www.clubofrome.at/argentina/ http://www.usacor.org
http://www.clubofrome.at for comparison: http://www.clubofrome.org
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
13. European National Associations of the Club of Rome (Status 1.4.2008)
► Austria: The Austrian Chapter of the Club of Rome
President: Dr. Peter Zoellner
c/o Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Otto-Wagner-Platz 3, 1090 Wien
contact: peter.zoellner@oenb.at
► Belgium: The Brussels-EU Chapter of the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Raoul Weiler;
Prins Boudewijnlaan 113, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
Tel.: ++32-32397287, E-mail: raoul.weiler@skynet.be Website: http://www.clubofrome.at/cor-eu/
► Bulgaria: The Bulgarian Association of the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Dr. Emil Konstantinov
Ul. Murgash 3-A, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria
Tel. / Fax: +3592 944 35 27 E-mail: ekonstan@techno-link.com
► Croatia: The Croatian Association of the Club of Rome
President: Dr. Branko Guberina
Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička 54, 10000 Zagreb,
Tel.: ++385-1-4680234 E-mail: guberina@thphys.irb.hr
► Czech Republic: The Czech Association for the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Pavel Nováček
c/o CESES FSV UK, Celetná 20, 11636 Praha 1, Czech Republic
Tel.: ++420-2-24491652 Fax: ++420-2-24227950 E-mail: pavel.novacek@upol.cz
► Estonia: The Estonian Association for the Club of Rome
President: Dr. Hardo Aasmäe
Koidu St. 80, EE-10139 Tallinn, Estonia
Secretary-General: Juhan Telgmaa, Tel.: ++372-51-17041, E-mail: nature@hot.ee
► Finland: The Finnish Association for the Club of Rome
President: Dr. Matti Penttilä
P.O.Box 450; 00101 Helsinki, Finland, Tel: ++358-20-6341310, Website: www.clubofrome.fi
► Georgia: The Georgian Association of the Club of Rome
Secretary General: Dr. Medea Abashidze
c/o Georgian Academy of Sciences, 52, Rustaveli Av., Tbilissi - 0108, Georgia
Tel.: ++995-32-380406 or 998408, Fax: ++955-99-905502, E-mail: medea@gacor.org.ge
► Germany: The German Association for the Club of Rome
President: Mr. Max Schön
Max Schön GmbH und Co. KG, An der Untertrave 74-76, 23552 Lübeck, Germany,
Tel.: ++49-451-7062714 E-mail: max.schoen@maxmax.de Website: http://www.clubofrome.de
► Greece: The Hellenic Chapter of the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis
c/o Biopolitics International Organisation, 10 Tim. Vassou Street, 11521 Athens, Greece
Tel.: ++30 (210) 6434093, E-mail: bio@hol.gr
► Hungary: The Hungarian Association of the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Dr. Laszlo Kapolyi
P.O.Box 709, H-1535 Budapest, Hungary
Tel.: ++36-1-3951468, Fax: ++36-1-3951469, E-mail: system@system.hu
Contact Person: Réka Várnagy, Tel.: ++361-482-5234, E-Mail: reka.varnagy@uni-corvinus.hu
► Italy: Aurelio Peccei Foundation
President: Dr. Gianfranco Bologna
c/o WWF Italia, Via Po 25/c, I- OO198 Roma, Italy
Tel.: ++39-06-84497385 E-mail: g.bologna@wwf.it Website: http://www.clubofrome.at/peccei/
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
► Netherlands: Erasmus Liga
President: Prof. Dr. Paul Rademaker
Leeuweriklaan 23 / 5561 TP Riethoven / Netherlands
Tel/Fax: ++31-497-513414, E-mail: rademake@worldonline.nl
Website: http://www.clubofrome.nl
► Poland: The Polish Association for the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Dr. Antoni Kuklinski
ul. Nowy Swiat 69, pok 35, PL- 00-046 Warsaw, Poland,
Tel: ++48-22-828-11-06 E-mail: clubofrome@clubofrome.pl
Secretary-General: Dr. Remigiusz Orzechowski: remigiusz.orzechowski@clubofrome.pl
Website: http://www.clubofrome.pl
► Romania: The Romanian Association for the Club of Rome
President: Dr. Mugur Isarescu
Secretary-General: Dr. Calin Georgescu
The Romanian Association for the Club of Rome, 16 Dr Burghelea Street, Bucharest-2, Romania
Tel.: ++40-21-211-2030, E-mail: calin.georgescu@ncsd.ro
Website: http://www.clubofrome.ro
► Russia: The Russian Association for the Club of Rome
President: Dr. Sergej A. Kamionsky
9, Prospect 60-let October, 117312 Moscow
Tel: ++7-495-337-5236 E-mail: skamionsky@tochka.ru
► Slovakia: The Slovak Association for the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Beloslav Riečan, Secretary-General: Assoc. Prof. Karel Nemoga
c/o Slovak Academy of Sciences, Inst. of Mathematics, Štefánikova 49, 81473 Bratislava, Slovakia
Tel.: ++421 2 57510414, Fax: ++421 2 524 97316 E-mail: nemoga@mat.savba.sk
► Slovenia: The Slovenian Association for the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Robert Blinc
J. Stefan Institute, Jamova 39 SLO- 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Tel.: ++386-1-4773456, Fax ++386-1-4773191, E-mail: robert.blinc@ijs.si
Secretary-General: Prof. Aleksander Zidansek, E-mail: aleksander.zidansek@ijs.si,
► Switzerland: The Swiss Chapter of the Club of Rome
contact: Dr. Eberhard von Koerber
Rämistrasse 18, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
Tel: 41-44-2588-040 office@vonkoerber.ch
► Spain: The Spanish Chapter of the Club of Rome
President: Mr. Isidro Fainé Casas
La Caixa, Av. Diagonal, 621-629, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
Tel.: ++34-93-404-7122, Fax: ++34-93-404-6764
Contact Person: Mr. Joan Rosas Xicota, E-mail: jrosas@lacaixa.es
Website: http://www.clubderoma.org
► Turkey: The Turkish Chapter of the Club of Rome
President: Prof. Orhan Güvenen
INWOSEC Bilkent University IISBF, DSEE, 06533 Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey
Tel.: ++90-312-2901660, Fax: ++90-312-2664960, E-mail: gorhan@bilkent.edu.tr
Secretary General: Seda Babür, Tel.: ++90 212 326 6060, E-mail: sbabur@hotmail.com
► Ukraine: The Ukrainian Association for the Club of Rome
President: Dr. Viktor Vovk,
24/7 Instytutska St., Office 49, 01021 Kyiv, Ukraine
Tel./Fax: (+38 044) 253-8849, 528-0789, E-mail: vvovk@voliacable.com
Website: http://www.clubofrome.org.ua
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
14. Publications by the European Support Centre in 2007
Leben im Cyberspace - Die Bildung von Sozialkapital
in virtuellen Welten
"Life in Cyberspace" discusses the impact of the new
technologies on social capital, culture and ethics.
ISBN: 978-3-929118-66-7
http://www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/cyberspace/proceedings.html
The Club of Rome Dossiers
by Pentti Malaska and Matti Vapaavuori
A collection of documents from the early time of the Club
of Rome.
ISBN: 952-99114-1-6
http://www.clubofrome.at/archive/
The Future of Europe - Sustainable Development and
Economic Growth?
Proceedings of a symposium in Vienna in co-operation
with the Portuguese EU Presidency.
ISBN 978-3-9592472-1-3
http://www.clubofrome.at/events/2007/future/proceedings.html
Future Oriented Studies
by Władysław R. Świtalski
Presents an update on future oriented modelling from a
historical perspective.
http://www.clubofrome.at/archive/
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
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Activity Report 2007 - European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
European Support
Centre
European Support Centre of the Club of Rome
Tuchlauben 8/15; 1010 Vienna; Austria
Tel. +43-1-5125770 Fax +43-1-5125770-10
http://www.clubofrome.at
europa clubofrome.at
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