19-20 April 2024 / Budapest
19-20 April 2024 / Budapest
19-20 April 2024 / National University of Public Service, Budapest
The exponential growth of technological civilization since the mid-20th century has been made possible by cheap, high energy density fossil fuels, which have been available in almost unlimited quantities. However, the idea of a global economy of continuous growth is now being challenged by the limits of our planet’s finite resources.
This has led to a series of crises – environmental, economic, health, security and energy – whose mutually reinforcing effects are becoming more difficult to manage every day. Much of humanity continues to believe that these crises can be solved through continued technological progress, but this is constrained by the finite nature of natural resources and the increasing energy demands required to extract and process them.
The continuation of current financial and economic production practices threatens the viability of the social, political and economic institutions of modern industrial civilization. Without them, basic human needs (water, food, energy, health, security) will not be met.
Without a broad and honest confrontation with the problems outlined above, it is inconceivable to address them effectively. Natural laws, time constraints and available resources limit our options.
As we strive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been developed in response to our global problems, we must also consider the increasing likelihood that current crises will deepen and create new tensions. For example, achieving a net zero transition, which aims to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will require and divert many resources from other tasks, which could lead to general societal discontent.
There is a need for general education and broad social dialogue about the problems that will arise and the inevitable consequences. Comprehensive scientific research programs on adaptation are essential to provide the basis for optimal decisions, considering both opportunities and constraints.
This initial series of conferences, planned to take place at least once a year, aims to lay the foundations for the broad dialogue that is currently lacking.
In his 2018 paper Deep Adaptation, Professor Jem Bendell drew attention to the unsustainability and likely collapse of current models of civilizational functioning. An international movement called Deep Adaptation was launched in 2019 and celebrates its 5th anniversary this year. The Hungarian edition of Jem Bendell’s book Breaking Together will be announced during the event.
The first World Adaptation Forum will be held in part to mark those occasions, with the long-term core objectives of the conference series in mind.
National University of Public Service,
Education Center
1089 Budapest, Üllői út 82.
Szilvia Gyurkó – Founder and Director of On A Rocking Horse Child Rights Foundation
Szilvia Gyurkó is a freelance child rights consultant and researcher based in Hungary. She develops and implements training and research projects in several European countries and publishes articles on child rights in online and print media. Between 2012-2014 she worked as the Director of the Hungarian Committee for the Rights of the Child at UNICEF. She then worked as a consultant for the Eastern Europe regional office of the Swiss-based international children’s relief organisation Terre des Hommes. She currently heads the On A Rocking Horse Child Rights Foundation-ECPAT Hungary, which develops programmes on children’s rights, child participation and child protection. She is also a doctoral student in social innovation design at the MOME Doctoral School.
Zoltán Pogátsa – Associate Professor at the University of West Hungary
Zoltán Pogátsa is an economist, sociologist and expert in international political economy. Associate professor at the University of West Hungary, lecturer at the Central European University, ELTE and the University of Verona and Between 2005 and 2015 he was a member of the Regional Competitiveness Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 2013, he was awarded a Greek State Scholarship to study the Greek crisis in Athens, and has published a book summarising the results of his work. He lectures on topics such as the economics of European integration, international political economy, the economics of Central Europe, EU policies. His research interests include European integration, with a special focus on peripheral countries.
Csaba Kőrösi – President of the United Nations General Assembly
Csaba Kőrösi joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983 and served in various countries, including Greece, Israel and Libya. He was also the Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations and served as vice-president of the General Assembly from 2011 to 2012. He was Deputy State Secretary responsible for security policy, multilateral diplomacy and human rights before being appointed Director of Environmental Sustainability in the Office of the President of Hungary. From 2022 to 2023 he served as President of the United Nations General Assembly for its 77th session. He is a recipient of the Hungarian Order of Merit. He was also awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Greek Order of the Phoenix.
János Zlinszky – Associate Professor at the Péter Pázmány Catholic University
János Zlinszky is Senior Advisor at the Institute for the Integrity of Creation, Péter Pázmány Catholic University, and emeritus associate professor in sustainability science, environmental policy and water diplomacy with PPKE and NKE. He serves on the advisory Boards of the Equilibrium Institute, and the Ludovica College (both in Budapest). During the development of the Sustainable Development Goals, he served as senior scientific adviser for the Co-Chair of the UN Open Working Group. His earlier positions include European Parliament Delegate Member of the Board and the Bureau of the European Environment Agency (EEA); Head of Department for Strategy and Research in the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, Hungary.
Alexandra Köves – Associate Professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest
She is an ecological economist, associate professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest, head of the Research Centre for Ecological Economics at the Corvinus Institute of Advanced Studies. In her teaching and research, she focuses on topics related to ecological economics, Degrowth and decision sciences, seeking opportunities to create a radically different, ecologically sustainable and socially just economy. She tries to popularize this research field to a wider audience. She hosts a Hungarian podcast called „Zöld Egyenlőség” with now more than 160 episodes, and is also the founder and co-host of the English-language podcast Economics for Rebels. She is also vice-president of the European Society for Ecological Economics.
András Gelencsér – Rector of the University of Pannonia
András Gelencsér is an air chemist, professor, corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, rector of the University of Pannonia, and internationally renowned researcher on the links between air pollution and climate change. His main research interests are atmospheric chemistry related to air pollution and climate change, in particular atmospheric aerosol chemistry. He was the first to identify the process of humus formation in the atmosphere. His article with the director of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry has become one of the most cited publications in the field. He published a monograph on carbonic aerosol in the Dutch Springer. To date, more than 4200 independent references have been made to his scientific papers.
David Korowicz – Director of Risk and Response at the Geneva Global Initiative
For nearly 20 years David has worked as an analyst and consultant on human systems ecology, emerging large-scale systemic risk, and societal response strategies. Areas of research included societal vulnerability, de-stabilisation and collapse dynamics, integrated global risk, and preparedness and planning. As a consultant he’s worked on a range of projects including the socio-economic impacts of severe pandemics, and exercise/ simulation/ process design to investigate catastrophes and preparedness. As director of Risk and Response at the Geneva Global Initiative he explored with senior political, contingency, military and other officials from a range of countries their capacity to address mounting global challenges including catastrophic irreversible disruption. David is a physicist by training.
Simon Michaux – Associate Professor at the Geological Survey of Finland
As an Associate Professor of geometallurgy at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) in KTR, the Circular Economy Solutions Unit, he holds a Basic degree in Bach App. Sc in Physics and Geology and a Ph.D. in Mining Engineering from JKMRC University of Queensland. With 18 years of work experience in the Australian mining industry focusing on research and development, 12 months in the private sector at Ausenco, and 3 years in Belgium at the University of Liege researching Circular Economy and industrial recycling, he brings a wealth of knowledge. His long-term objectives involve the transformation of the Circular Economy into a more practical system for the industrial ecosystem, addressing the twin challenges of technology mineral scarcity and the transition away from fossil fuels.
Jem Bendell – Professor Emeritus at the University of Cumbria
Before the summer of 2023, he held the position of a full Professor of Sustainability Leadership and served as the Founder of the Initiative for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) at the University of Cumbria. Additionally, he was the Founder of the Deep Adaptation Forum and the co-Founder of the International Scholars’ Warning on Societal Disruption and Collapse. A significant transformation in his career commenced in 2017 as he took a year out to study the latest climate science and released the Deep Adaptation paper, which gained widespread attention. His latest book, „Breaking Together,” was published in 2023 and provides a comprehensive approach to the systemic challenges humanity faces in the upcoming years.