Headline: Symposium "Friends of the Open Society"

Democracy, Sustainability and Digitalization: Symposium "Friends of the Open Society" Photo: familie redlich

21.11.2018 - 21.11.2018

Start time: 14:00

Documentation

Sustainability and democracy are intertwined: the open society provides an enabling environment in which a good life for all can be secured with the aid of knowledge and technological innovations. With the world population projected to reach 9 billion in the coming decades, sustainability is more important than ever if this vision is to achieved. The insight that sustainable development can only be achieved in an open society, together with the uncertainty generated by the current crises of democracy and sustainability around the globe, should be viewed as an impulse with the potential to spur efforts to foster sustainable development.

Held in Berlin in November 2018, the Friends of the Open Society Symposium brought together 250 guests to discuss the most pressing issues at the intersection of democracy, sustainability, and digitalisation with representatives from the political sphere and civil society. The event was hosted and organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies.

“But technological progress alone will not improve climate protection. We have to take the people with us”, said Anja Karliczek in her welcome address Photothek | Inga Kjer

Patrizia Nanz and Klaus Töpfer: “We are seeing a crisis of institutions, a decline in trust in democracy, and a loss of authority with respect to both science and the rule of law” Photothek | Inga Kjer

Thomas Bauer: “In generally, people wish to avoid ambiguity. But tolerance for ambiguity is fundamental to the open society.” Photothek | Inga Kjer

William K. Reilly emphasised the importance of empathy and openness. It would be naive to forgo democratic process for the sake of efficiency gains in the fight against climate change, he argued. Photothek | Inga Kjer

A social contract between science and society must create the political framework within which “knowledge and expertise are provided free from bias and for the good of society”, said Lisa Herzog. Photothek | Inga Kjer

According to Robert Habeck, unlike other societal challenges, the ecological question is unique in that it can be solved only through the fruitful cooperation of policymakers and science. Photothek | Inga Kjer

The depoliticization of the topic under Angela Merkel stifled public debate on the fact that our future will be defined by ecology and the climate, criticized Bernd Ulrich. Photothek | Inga Kjer

Lisa Herzog: Scientific knowledge is only one kind of knowledge that is relevant; and it is not necessarily the type of knowledge that is best suited to motivating people to take political action. Photothek | Inga Kjer

Christiane Grefe: “There is a deficit in the public debate around the digital transition: the absence of ecology.” Photothek | Inga Kjer

Jürgen Renn: “We must understand the fundamental fact that innovations have a systemic character: The democratization of innovation processes is not something that is simply nice to have, it is crucial to solving the problem.” Photothek | Inga Kjer

Petra Grimm: “A digital transition informed by values would be a real innovation. Artificial intelligence in Germany must be inspired by a value-sensitive approach to design and cooperation in the development of technical innovation.” Photothek | Inga Kjer

Matthias Kleiner: “The digital transition is a human project. We must grant ourselves the autonomy to decide what we want.” Photothek | Inga Kjer

Jürgen Renn discussed the opportunities presented by technological innovations in his keynote. Photothek | Inga Kjer

Klaus Töpfer closed the symposium with an appeal: “We have the responsibility to develop technologies which, rather than creating new path dependencies, are both adaptable and scalable.” Photothek | Inga Kjer

Symposium guests (f.l.t.r.): Jürgen Renn, Bernd Ulrich, Petra Grimm, Alexander Müller, Mechthild Töpfer, Anja Karliczek, Klaus Töpfer, Patrizia Nanz, Lisa Herzog, William K. Reilly, Matthias Kleiner, Robert Habeck and Thomas Bauer. Photothek | Inga Kjer

Opening the symposium, Patrizia Nanz (IASS) and Alexander Müller (TMG Thinktank for Sustainability) outlined the challenges currently facing the open society. Both emphasised the need for research that will promote the common good and advance efforts to generate knowledge that is relevant to society and will meet with acceptance.

Federal Minister Anja Karliczek welcomed the guests to the symposium andhighlighted the complex relationship between democracy and sustainability in the age of climate change. Bidging the divide between the insights of science and political action was more important than ever, she argued. Klaus Töpfer was an exemplary figure in this respect, she noted, and had shaped the production of knowledge at the interface of policymaking, science and society over decades.

9 Standpunkte zu Demokratie, Nachhaltigkeit & Digitalisierung

Rethinking the relationship between democracy, transformation, and knowledge

The first part of the symposium focused on recent challenges to the hard-won societal consensus on rationality, the rule of law and scientific progress. Thomas Bauer (University of Münster), Robert Habeck (Alliance 90/The Greens), Lisa Herzog (Bavarian School of Public Policy), William K. Reilly (formerly US Environmental Protection Agency EPA), and Bernd Ulrich (Die Zeit) discussed what steps science and policymakers could take to defend this shared value system. Recognising and addressing the current crises would create a space in which solutions to social issues could be developed.

Technological innovations – Opportunities and risks for sustainable development in an open society

Technological innovation can serve the open society and foster a sustainable future. A panel discussion with Christiane Grefe (Die Zeit), Petra Grimm (Institute for Digital Ethics, Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart), Matthias Kleiner (Leibniz Association) and Jürgen Renn (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) debated the aims of technological innovations and the opportunities and risks they present. The discussion highlighted different approaches to placing technological innovation in the service of societal goals and their integration within our cultural value system. There was a consensus that science and policymakers must adopt a common position and develop processes to foster dialogue between various disciplines within the science system and technology policy.

Acting today, thinking for tomorrow

Klaus Töpfer, whose eightieth birthday was the occasion for the symposium, explored in his speech the tension that exists between the advanced state of societal homogenization and the need for diverse alternatives in an open society. That just three globally-operating companies hold personal data relating to millions of people is symptomatic of this state of affairs.

With reference to the introduction of large-scale technologies, Klaus Töpfer reminded his audience that humans never make decisions with perfect information. Technology policy must therefore consider both the scalability of technology and – as the situation requires – its adaptation or indeed correction. Democracy, Töpfer argued, can be decisively undermined when technologies, the business sector or policymakers foster path dependencies or are unable to check their advance. In that event, democratic societies lose their ability to adapt to changing circumstances and to tap into the vast potential that lies in human diversity.