On the 3rd and 4th of July 2015, oikos was invited to attend the international conference “Sustainable Environmental Politics and Economy” (translated) in Berlin organized by the Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU), the Free University of Berlin and the Hochschultage ÖkosozialeMarktwirtschaft und Nachhaltigkeit .
The conference brought together young researchers from various disciplines to present and discuss their research related to sustainability, the environment, climate and energy policies, politics, the economy and governance. The PhD Conference was held in connection with the annual meeting of the University Day for Eco-Social Markets and Sustainability (which is run by the Club of Rome), the PhD-Network for sustainable economy (DNW), the Global Marshall Plan Foundation, and Green Budget Germany (FÖS).
The participants of the conference had a unique chance to share their ideas about the role of a green and inclusive economy with the most prominent professors like Prof. Dr.Franz Josef Radermacher(FAW/n./.Club.of.Rome) from Ulm and Prof.Dr and Miranda Schreurs-the director of the Environmental Policy Research Centre.
The conference was divided into broad thematic areas to allow for focused discussions and networking across universities and disciplines. PhD researchers from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Luxemburg, Vienna, Switzerland and Brazil presented their topics dedicated to climate and energy, multi-level governance, environmental policies and energy transitions.
One of the key-note speakers, Dr. Dirk Sollte, let participants get deeper insight on the concept of eco-social economy and capital in the 21st century. Money and sustainable development was the focus of his workshop. Later, Prof. Dr. Christian Callies (FU/Club of Rome/SRU) talked about the TTIP in terms of opportunities and risks for sustainability. Amongst others, Johannes Geibel, a co-founder of the student initiative ‘Greening the University of Tuebingen’ introduced a new platform for sustainable universities, while Prof. Dr. Estelle Heryln talked about how to integrate sustainability in business curricula and design sustainable universities.
Mariam Kakhidze, an Executive Board member of oikos, presented our organization to the participant of the conference and the representatives of other organizaitons. Amongst the present ones were the Global Marshal Plan Initiative, the Club of Rime, the Green Budget, Sneep, SUSTAIN IT and the PhD Network for Sustainable Economy (translated). Best practices and experience were exchanged. We are looking forward to the interesting future collaborations that have shown interest throughout these days!
Author: Mariam Kakhidze, oikos Executive Board Member 2015
