Decision Makers 2010 Defining Tomorrow's Agenda Conference May 10-12, 1999, Frankfurt Executive Summary Conclusions Papers Program Participants Book List Download (Word-File): Program, Summary, Conclusions, Participants.

				Conclusions and Agenda for the Future Closing the conference, Professor Werner Weidenfeld summed up the arguments of the preceding two days. He listed five key areas for further research: Coping with speed. Participants agreed that the pace of change appears to be accelerating, and that both societies and leaders need mechanisms for coping with rapid changes. Civil society needs to be strengthened. While it cannot replace the state or private enterprise, civil society fills gaps left by both. Future societies that do not have sufficient balance among the three will serve their citizens poorly. Demographic change will place stresses on all industrialized countries, and most developing ones as well. As societies age, they will need to redefine work and to reshape the structures that provide for people in retirement. Our concept of privacy is under fierce pressure. The ability to store and transmit personal information rapidly to many different end-users means that individual reliance on secrecy, anonymity or even discretion can no longer be assured. Our societies are seeking new balances in the trade-offs between the benefits of widespread information and personal privacy. As part of its ongoing work, the Research Group on the Global Future will pursue each of these themes. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Stephen O'Connor, William Wechsler. Participants in the conference offered additional final points (links lead to summaries of presentations): Dr. Gregory Stock The speed of change adds up to a qualitative difference Unified global responses to the problems addressed here are probably bad ideas; we should preserve the opportunity for solutions to compete We need to incorporate biotechnology into our existing models for making medical decisions. They are both adequate and allow for case-by-case examination of circumstances. Dr. Moira Gunn Responsible use of information can be programmed into the networked structures that we build. We must ask computer science to respond to our societal needs, not ask our society to adjust to what the computer companies want to provide. Jon Bingen Common denominator of problems listed is that of building a legitimate, functional state with proper financing. Josef Janning Looking explicitly at urban communities will demonstrate many of the points raised during the conference Dr. Christof Erhart Focus more in the individual level than on the systemic level Robbie Oxnard Bent Dialogue about the future should be as broadly based as possible Dr. David Brin We should look more at non-zero-sum alternative means of dispute resolution We need to revisit the discussion about whether or not some ideas are inherently toxic These comments will also be incorporated into the continuing work of the Research Group on the Global Future.
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