Lecture 2010: Beyond the Crises
The theme of the WRR Lecture 2010, held on the 2nd of December 2010, was ‘Beyond the crisis’.
Crises
We live in turbulent times. We are confronted with a financial and economic crisis, a threatened climate crisis, an energy crisis, epidemics and a food crisis. What are the consequences of these events for our future existence? What might the future look like? What do we want the future to be like and how can we achieve it? In short, how might the world look after the crisis?
The future is uncertain. Choices and actions taken in the here and now do however cast a long shadow and therefore influence the future. Carefully considered, scientifically based forward studies can help in determining that future. In the WRR Lecture 2010, the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy invited attendees to share in an exchange of ideas based on a number of scenarios about the Netherlands ‘after the crisis’. Two speakers, Angela Wilkinson and John B. Robinson, illustrated dilemmas and challenges for the future and in doing so exposed deep-rooted expectations and thought processes. The existing perspectives on the present turbulence no longer equip us adequately for the future.
About the speakers
Dr. Angela Wilkinson is Programme Director of the Futures Direcorate at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, in collaboration with Roland Kupers. Prof. John B. Robinson is Director of the Sustainable Development Research Institute and a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of British Colombia in Canada.