“Inspiring Change Towards a Green Economy”
25–26 February 2011 | Freiburg
Acting in a sustainable manner means giving environmental aspects a place in economic decision making processes. Sounds reasonable. Sadly, it is seldom put into practice. In February students of “Environmental Governance” discussed with top-class speakers and international guests ways in which to change this.
Read our Travelogue:
“Inspiration and Exchange”
“Driving change one step at a time”
Interviews:
Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker “Mindset is part of the problem”
Ulrich Hoffmann: “The Green Economy – For Now the Best Alternative”
From the workshop:
Image gallery on facebook
Impressions from Freiburg:
“I have one piece of advice to give after having helped organise the conference in Freiburg: Quit the studies and head to the United Nations. Our preparation was all about dialogue, dialogue and more dialogue. And most of the time we were able to fine a workable compromise. Dialogue and compromise – that’s how to make the world a better place.”
Kwame Ababio from Ghana studies Environmental Governance at the University of Freiburg
“I saw a lot of good examples of green architecture during the Freiburg excursion. It showed me that new technologies will help us achieve sustainability. I think that values are the most important factor, however. Traditional values in China, those prescribed by Confucianism and Taoism, are perfectly aligned with the idea of sustainability. The more we embrace Western culture, though, the more we run the risk of losing these values.”
Ying Chen from China studies International Management at Nürtingen-Geislingen University
“The discussion in Freiburg made something very important clear to me: The United Nations might be the one to solve some of the world’s largest problems on a strategic level. But the local people, the local communities, are just as important. They need to be aware of the problem before they can make a change.”
Khan Mehedi Hassan from Bangladesh studies International and Development Economics at the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) in Berlin
Participants: Students from the Environmental Governance programme at the University of Freiburg
Program Chair: Prof. Dr. Michael Pregernig
Michael.Pregernig@ifp.uni-freiburg.de
