Truth and Consequences- UNESCO MOST Winter School by iASK

Organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK) and the Institute for Social and European Studies (ISES), in cooperation with the University of Pannonia, and the UNESCO Chair of Kőszeg.

All events, discussions, lectures will be held in English!

In a (post-)Covid-19, post-truth world troubled by political, economic, and climate crises, and adjusting to hybrid lives, requires rethinking old concepts and approaches to inter-dependent global challenges. Emerging shifts in the geopolitical order, reorganization of the global economy and social spaces, the appearance of novel political options, and the increase in migration waves and environmental emergencies, combine to pose a novel set of interdependent and hybrid risks that put a strain on the socio-political orders within real-existing democracies. Strongly convinced that the contemporary historical moment requires both unorthodox and innovative approaches capable of embracing our current complexity and uncertainty, the 4^th UNESCO MOST Winter School invites all interested participants to join us in Kőszeg (Hungary) February 21-25, 2022 for intergenerational exchange of ideas and perspectives on transforming our future. We are particularly interested in proposals made by advanced graduate students, both junior and senior scholars, as well as professionals and activists from a wider circle of civil society organizations. Participants are welcome who value interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral exchanges to transform current hegemonic thinking into a new paradigm that better mitigates interlinked and paradoxical risks.

The discussion at the winter school will revolve around the following topics:

Our Hybrid Futures: Digital re-wiring, social distancing and redefined lifestyles after Covid-19
Is it Time to start Panicking? Governance in the face of climate emergencies
How to Tell the Truth? Communication between science, politics (policy) and societies in times of crisis and change
Challenged Democracies: Deconstructing old values, creating new alliances and (re)building social trust in (post)pandemic times
Rethinking Europe and its Geopolitics in the Contemporary Era
Southeast Europe at a Geopolitical Crossroads: Between China, Russia, and the European dream
Who are We? Transformation of modern identity influenced by migrations, modern lifestyles, technocultures, social media and accelerated presumption: intergenerational perspectives

Eligibility: Advanced MA and Ph.D. students and young researchers, young professionals, policymakers, and social entrepreneurs, who have a keen academic or professional interest in the topics.

Application deadline:

– January 30, 2022

Applicants should send the following documents to [email protected]

completed IWS Application Form

CV
motivation letter

Online platform: Zoom after a personal invitation

Certificates will be awarded for those who have completed the whole program.

Az UNESCO Téli Iskola eseményei közép-európai idő szerint kezdődnek!Monday 21^st February

09:30 – 10:00 Introduction session moderated by Ivana Stepanovic

Daily moderator: Anikó Magasházi

Welcome speech by

10:00-10:20 Ferenc Miszlivetz (director of iASK, University of Pannonia)

10:20 – 10:30 Béla Básthy (Mayor of Kőszeg)

10: 30 – 10: 45 Miklós Réthelyi (Chair, Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO)

10:45 – 11:30 Keynote: Sean Cleary (Future World Foundation / iASK Advisory Board Member)

11:30-13:30 Lunch Break

13:30 – 14:30 Panel: Our Hybrid Futures: Digital re-wiring, social distancing and redefined lifestyles after Covid-19

Two years after the Covid-19 outbreak, technology-mediated living and socialising that is physically distanced has become the new normal. What are the social, cultural, political and economic ramifications of digital re-wiring and how do we mitigate our hybrid futures and chronic uncertainty?

Panelists:

14:30 – 15:30 Discussion

15:30 – 16:00 Cultural Broadcast: Virtual tour of the city monuments including the renovated Synagogue with Mónika Mátay (researcher of iASK, historian)

Tuesday 22^nd February

Moderator of the day: Izabella Agárdi

MORNING SESSION: 10:00-12:00

10:00-12:00 Panel: Is it Time to Start Panicking? Governance in the face of climate emergencies

While interlinked natural disasters across the globe point towards man-made climate change, the divided world has failed to create strategies for international cooperation. How should we approach the systemic environmental crisis and what are the key challenges on local, regional and global levels?

Panelists:

Orsolya Ráczova (Chair)

12:00-14:00 Lunch break

AFTERNOON SESSION:

14:00 – 14:30 Keynote: Daniel Brooks (University of Toronto, researcher of iASK)

14:30 – 16:30 Workshop by Ilan Chabay (Head of Strategic Science Initiatives and Programa, IASS, Arizona State University. USA)

Polishing our crystal ball: preparing for future crises with insight, imagination, and innovation

If we could polish a magic crystal ball in which to see the future, how would we know what to look for to prepare for potential major crises, that is conditions that overwhelm our capacity to avoid, mitigate, or adapt with them? Climate change, environmental degradation, and the wide range of impacts on the complex socio-economic-ecological-technical system in which we live repeatedly result in disastrous, multi-scale crises. If we could see all the complexity of the (future) world, how would we make sense of that image? Can we imagine and learn our way around and past crises into sustainable futures by using insights into social-cultural dynamics, technological innovations, and changing bio-geo-physical conditions? What do our ideas on these issues tell us about the challenges of building resilient communities/regions and moving toward more sustainable futures?

Wednesday 23^rd February

Moderator of the day: Attila Pók

MORNING SESSION: 10:00-12:00 panel discussion

Challenged Democracies: Deconstructing old values, creating new alliances and (re)building social trust in (post)pandemic times

The notion of democracy has undergone profound change as the relationship between citizenship and the state is challenged by the evolving trends of economic, political, and social globalization. There is an increasing inability of the former to command the later and has resulted not only in the rise of political disillusionment and general voter apathy but has also radicalized political options that emerge as an antidote for the most serious ‘democratic disease’ of our times – the lack of social trust among the wider population in political institutions. The panel addresses how to mitigate current conditions, learning from recent failures, and forging new ways for effective civic engagement that could reestablish an effective belief in democracy as a method for resolving the pressing issues of our time.

Proposed panelists:

12:00-14:00 Lunch break

AFTERNOON SESSION: 14:00-16:00 panel discussion

How to Tell the Truth? Communication between science, politics (policy) and societies in times of crisis and change

In times of global crises, communication channels between the scientific communities, governments and populations are often hijacked and can lead to the erosion of democratic values and the hyperproduction of conspiracy theories. How do we restore trust in an era of fake news, post-truth and the collapse of traditional media?

Proposed panelists:

16:00 – 17:00 Cultural Broadcast: Zoltán Mizsei Sounding City

Thursday 24^th February

Moderator of the day: Ivana Stepanovic

MORNING SESSION: 10:00-12:00 panel discussion

Southeast Europe at a Geopolitical Crossroads: Between China, Russia, and the European dream

Stranded in a never-ending line to join the EU, Southeast Europe has more recently become open to influence from and cooperation with alternative geopolitical contenders. While Russia has slowly renewed its age-old capacity to exercise global influence by engaging in unresolved political disputes, China has even more surely found its way into the region by exercising economic influence. In this novel context, the panel examines how emerging geopolitical tendencies impact the region as a whole and its position within Europe and vis-à-vis the EU. We also question what the results could be for the region as it attempts to sit on two or three regional chairs in the future within the larger geopolitical context.

Panelists:

12:00-14:00 Lunch break

AFTERNOON SESSION: 14:00 – 16:00 panel discussion

Rethinking Europe and its Geopolitics in the Contemporary Era

The EU’s position within the global order has significantly changed over the recent past. While its most important ally, the United States, undergoes problems of its own, its two most important political antagonists, China and Russia, present a comeback on the global stage, willing to mediate in their most immediate geopolitical spaces. Noting the importance of China’s economic might and Russia’s military challenge, the panel explores the EU’s response to these emerging challenges and rethinks the global position of the wider European continent in the 21^st century.

Panelists:

Boglárka Koller (Dean the National University of Public Service)
Emil Brix ( Diplomatic Academy of Vienna)
Edouard Gaudot (Adviser for the Green Group in the European Parliament)
Andrew C. Kuchins (political scientist, former head of the American University of Central Asia)
Ljubov Shishelina (Institute of Europe at RAS)
Sanja Tepavcevic (researcher of iASK)

16:00-16:30 Cultural broadcast: String Concerto by Bernadett & Uwe Scheer

Friday 25^th February

Moderator of the day: Ravid Taghiyev

MORNING SESSION: 10:00-11:00

General topic: Who are We? Transformation of modern identity influenced by migrations, modern lifestyles, technocultures, social media and accelerated prosumption: intergenerational perspectives

As the fast-paced interconnected world harvests adaptable and updatable individuals, traditional ethnic, religious, national and geographic borders are being contested both online and offline. This panel aims to investigate how different generations approach the current socio-political changes and how they (de)construct individual and collective identities under the influence of technology, new media and accelerated (re)production processes.

Students will be divided into 4 groups and will be given group tasks (in advance) and be asked to make presentations. Chairpersons will be choosing subtopics, distributing tasks and guiding participants to create presentations.

GROUP 1. TRADITIONAL IDENTITIES by Dimitar Nikolovski

GROUP 2. MIGRATIONS & IDENTITIES by Igor Stipic

GROUP 3. GENDER IDENTITIES by Izabella Agárdi

GROUP 4. TECHNOCULTURES AND ONLINE IDENTITIES by Ivana Stepanovic

11:00-12:00 Presentations by participants

12:00-12:20 Closing remarks: Ferenc Miszlivetz

Izabella Agárdi (researcher of iASK)

Orsolya Bajer-Molnár (Konrad Lorenz Institute)

Béla Básthy (Mayor of Kőszeg)

Dion van den Berg (PAX for Peace)

János Bogárdi (University of Bonn, researcher of iASK)

Emil Brix ( Diplomatic Academy of Vienna)