Summary of the WCI Annual International Conference: Knowledge Cities World Summit 2023
Adapting to Climate-Change through Regenerative Transformation of Cities and Regions
Lake Constance, Lindau, Inselhalle Lindau
Partners: World Capital Institute (WCI), Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences (RWU).
Cooperation Institutions: Institute for empirical Sociology (IfES) at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen Nuremberg, Scientists4Future Ravensburg, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences; Humboldt Cosmos Multiversity; University of Lancaster.
Day 1 | Tuesday, 28th November 2023 | Inaugural sessions
Day 1 | Tuesday, 28th November 2023 | Inaugural sessions
Day 1, 15:00 – 15:45 UTC: Inaugural Ceremony
Welcome Address: Dr Claudia Alfons, Mayor of the city of Lindau.
Representative salutations: Prof. Dr Michael Pfeffer, Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences, Prorector for Research, International Affairs and Transfer and Prof. Dr Wolfgang Ertel, Scientists4Future Ravensburg.
Inauguration: Prof. Dr Fransisco Javier Carillo Gamboa, President, World Capital Institute.
Chair: Prof. Dr Monika Schröttle, Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences.
Monika Schröttle (Inaugural Ceremony)
Day 1, 15:45-16:30 UTC: Inaugural keynote
Regenerative Transformation of Cities and Regions
Dr Daniel Dahm, Councillor of the World Future Council, Member of the Club of Rome, Founder and Managing Director of United Sustainability Group
Chair: Dr Cathy Garner, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Lancaster UK.
Following Daniel Dahm's presentation on the regenerative transformation of cities and regions, several key issues were discussed. Regarding GDP, Cathy Garner mentioned that she had noticed hopeful signs from the Office of National Statistics in the UK. Not only is GDP published quarterly, but also a "Well Being Index". As Robert Kennedy said in 1968, "GDP measures everything except what makes life worth living". Cathy Garner added that it is obvious that these things have been tried before. So how can we really change the system, and how do we get the power to make those changes?
Daniel Dahm answered this question with reference to his presentation. There have been political discussions around the world about financial issues. How to finance the national budget, how to maintain social stability and the needs of the future generation, how to deal with the needs of the future that we will soon be confronted with. Today this is done through the labour and tax system. The welfare system and immaterial needs like education etc. are financially based on the tax system. This system only works if there is cheap access to energy and resources, which goes back to the beginning of his talk, the ecosystem. If the ecosystem must be reinvested, then the maximum wage for labour can no longer be paid. And so not enough taxes can be collected to refinance the welfare system and immaterial needs. Subsistence economy and subsistence work must increase. Supporting this provides another source of welfare production and social stability, apart from the financial market and apart from international supply chains.
Finally, Daniel Dahm made a brief comment on a question from the digital audience on the topic: how does subsistence economy relate to degrowth? He mentioned that in the last 40 years there hasn't really been any growth, but a constant increase in consumption and robbery. So now growth could come with the regeneration of the ecological and social foundations of life.
Day 1, 16:30 – 18:30 UTC: World-Café
Desired Futures for our Cities
Research Fellows of World Capital Institute and Community of Practice Lindau
Coordinator: Dr Ruth Beilharz, School of Participation.
Dr Beilharz, with colleagues, led and moderated an engaging and interactive session in which participants both from the conference and local citizens actively engaged in small and varied groups to exchange their views and thoughts on how to chart the future of our cities. An engaging and stimulating event for all taking part.
Day 2 | Wednesday, 29th November 2023 | Transformative action and urban development. Regional and global Experiences
Day 2, 09:30 – 11:30 UTC: Morning Session, Workshop 1 with population, business, and science
Cross-border innovation labs for shaping sustainable socio-economic change
Circular Lab, Sustainable Mobility Lab and IoT Sustainability Lab.
Chair: Dipl-Ing. Daniela Knünz, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences and Science Network “Vierländerregion Bodensee”.
The second day of the conference was opened with the labs of the science network (Circular Lab, Sustainable Mobility Lab and the IoT Sustainability Lab) contributing to the conference as part of the workshop “Innovation Lab for Shaping Sustainable Socio-Economic Change”.
After a brief presentation of the structure, objectives, and key topics by the lab leaders Steffen Finck (FHV), Martin Dobler (FHV) and Damian Bäumlisberger (HTWG), the participants were invited to discuss specific key questions together with the lab teams.
At the Sustainable Mobility Lab, it was discussed whether the renunciation of mobility in cities is an alternative or a necessity for the mobility of the future and whether this renunciation can be an option to alternative forms of propulsion, such as e-cars. In addition, it was discussed how citizens could be encouraged to scrutinise transport routes in terms of their necessity. Technological and /or social innovations for urban mobility solutions were also considered.
The Circular Lab discussed challenges, opportunities, entrepreneurial concepts, and personal contributions in relation to the “circular economy as a model for the future”.
The IoT Sustainability Lab discussed opportunities for sustainable I(o)T solutions and paths to resource-efficient software (green software engineering). The focus here was on the advantages and disadvantages as well as possible areas of application for resource-efficient software.
For detailed information, please contact the LAB Coordination Office of the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences – Daniela Knünz or Julia Wandrey at coordination-labs@fhv.at
Day 2, 09:30 – 11:30 UTC: Morning Session, Workshop 2
Sustainable Transformation of Cities and Regions: Understanding, enabling, and shaping profound change
The New Club of Paris Roundtable, Günther Szogs, The New Club of Paris, Dr Sönke Voss, CEO IHK Bodensee-Oberschwaben
Chair: Prof. Dr Stefan Güldenberg, President of The New Club of Paris, Prof. Dr Klaus North, The New Club of Paris, Waltraut Ritter, Board Member of The New Club of Paris
In this participative roundtable different successful transformation stories of cities and regions were presented and participants had the opportunity to share their own stories and experiences. As a result, it became very clear that studying the intangible particularities of each city and region, getting the buy-in of stakeholders, together with appropriate timing, using pilots and smart technologies and clear common goals, ultimately drive successful transformation.
The New Club of Paris (NCP) https://new-club-of-paris.org/ as the host of this roundtable is an agenda developer for the knowledge economy.
The Club’s aim is to support nations, regions, cities, communities, and organizations in their transformation into the knowledge society. The Club brings together intellectual entrepreneurs, scientists, opinion leaders and high-level politicians in the knowledge society and knowledge economy to engage in research, dialogue, and concrete activities. The Club prominently participates in knowledge raising events around the world, coordinates and contributes to worldwide research efforts on the knowledge economy, and publishes a variety of papers and books.
Presentation: Dr. Sönke Voss "Smart and Sustainable Transformation of the Lake Constance Region (BW)"
Presentation: Stefan Güldenberg "The New Club of Paris Roundtable on Sustainable Transformation of Cities and Regions”
Presentation: Waltraud Ritter "Mission of The New Club of Paris”
Day 2, 13:00 – 13:40 UTC: Session 1A, Keynote
Five Times Faster
Simon Sharpe, Director of Economics for the UN Climate Champions, Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute.
Chair: Dr Cathy Garner, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Lancaster UK.
Simon Sharpe gave an overview of his book "Five times faster" in this keynote session. He pointed out that the title is often misunderstood. The content is not about arguing that we need to move five times faster. That it is simply what the statistics show. The focus of his book and presentation was on how to do it. In his talk, he therefore gave an overview of the three main parts of the book: Science, Economics and Diplomacy.
In addition to the keynote speech, COP26 in Glasgow and COP28 in Dubai were discussed, as Simon Sharpe was actively involved in these events. Chair Cathy Garner and Simon Sharpe discussed the global process that has taken place between these two events, outlining the differences, the positive outcomes and the challenges that still await us after Dubai.
They also took questions from the audience on the role of climate reparations, the role of multidisciplinary cooperation in decarbonisation, and the role of citizens themselves in the process of technological improvement.
Day 2, 13:40 – 15:00 UTC: Session 1B, Panel
Socioecological Transformation of Cities and Regions
Prof. Dr Eliut Flores-Caraballo, Professor at the Graduate School of the Information Science and Technology, University of Puerto Rico, Prof. Dr Blanca C. García, Graduate Program in Integrated Water Management, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Monterrey, México. Martin Dobler, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences, Coordinator of Sustainable Mobility Lab.
Chair: Prof. Dr Fransisco Javier Carrillo Gamboa, President, World Capital Institute.
Panel Summary: In this panel session there were three presentations on the socioecological transformation of cities and regions. First, Blanca C. Garcia (El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Monterrey, Mexico) gave an overview of water management, particularly the concept of necessary water resilience. Eliut Flores (University of Puerto Rico) introduced us to the concept of the Knowledge Nodes Service (KNS) for mapping Puerto Rico's know-how. Finally, Martin Dobler (University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg) presented the Sustainable Mobility Lab, an innovative project of universities and demonstration partners in the Lake Constance region.
The panel ended with further discussions on points raised in the presentations. Francisco Javier Carrillo, who moderated the panel, invited each panellist to put a question to another panel member. Blanca C. Garcia and Eliut Flores discussed the technological improvements being made for the KNS platform, such as intelligent chat bots. This will make it easier for users to ask questions (e.g. "who can tell me about..."), making it easier for them to find and get the information they need on the platform. Eliut Flores and Martin Dobler talked about different ways of funding projects. Martin Dobler pointed out that the Sustainable Mobility Lab is embedded in a consortium of universities that are owned by the state. So, they could not really apply for venture funding, but they could work with start-ups for innovation. Finally, Martin Dobler and Blanca C. Garcia talked about how to measure the impact of the projects and how to communicate this to policy makers. Martin Dobler mentioned that they are working on the same approaches, but measuring the impact and communicating it to policy might be different in Germany or Austria compared to Mexico. Blanca C. Garcia mentioned that they are at a critical point in Mexico now and that it is difficult to influence policy decisions even with the information and knowledge from the research that has been done. She also emphasized that the keyword for working on these issues is transdisciplinary and that transdisciplinary exchange is essential.
E. Flores-Caraballo “Socioecological Transformation of Cities & Regions: Mapping Knowledge Nodes for R&D and Economic Growth in Puerto Rico”: This paper presents the stakeholder validation process that the researcher has conducted to posit the creation of the Knowledge Nodes Service (KNS) to grow the R&D and highly specialized services market in Puerto Rico. This process has involved a three-month long collaboration effort among technology teams, stakeholder advocates, and representatives of the US Census the Opportunity Project Summer Sprint program, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust (PRSTRT) and Colmena66. This project addresses a problem statement seeking innovative ideas to provide Financing for Innovation and Technology Transfer in Puerto Rico.
The proposed KNS will build an interactive tool to identify all the R&D and advanced knowledge production / specialized services centres in PR and to foster the global monetization of their capabilities. This service aims to document (and keep updated) all PR knowledge nodes’ human, structural, and relational capital, products, services, and capabilities combining human data collection and web crawling. The platform will include an intelligent search engine -using an AI powered chatbot- to help visitors precisely identify resources relevant to their needs and establish contact to explore working/business relationships with minimum effort. The KNS is envisioned to provide a portal and community of practice securely linked to all mayor innovation ecosystem-related institutions in PR to promote collaboration and sharing of best practices, in a collaboration space among stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem to strengthen their effectiveness in the knowledge economy. The KNS seeks to spur a marketplace to monetize existing scientific, R&D, know-how, patents, facilities, infrastructure, specialized services/staff at universities and corporations on the Island. The specific objectives of the KNS are to: Provide a single point of global visibility to Puerto Rica’s R&D and specialized services activities and capabilities among the scientific, entrepreneurial, and financial communities; Foster partnering, investment, and market opportunities to facilitate development and commercialization of Puerto Rican innovations in the global market; Promote collaboration and deal flow among members of the Puerto Rican innovation ecosystem in the country and across the worldwide diaspora; and, Identify investment opportunities to grow PR knowledge production capabilities in strategic R&D and specialized services niches.
Presentation: Eliut Flores-Caraballo “Knowledge Nodes Service: Mapping and Monetizing Puerto Rico’s Know-How”
Presentation: Blanca C. García “Water Resilience in Cities: Adaption and Social Learning in near-Zero Water Contexts”
M. Dobler: The four-county region of Lake Constance places high demands on mobility. Intensive inner-city and interurban traffic - often in a very challenging topography - come together, traffic flows cross national borders, and the many small towns form unattractive mobility markets for providers of existing mobility solutions. In conjunction with the increased volume of traffic and emissions in passenger and freight transport in the region, the complexity is increasing and requires innovative, systematically cross-border and mostly digitally supported solutions. The Sustainable Mobility Lab will work on the innovation potential for these challenges in an international consortium.
Presentation: Martin Dobler “Sustainable Mobility Lab: How does Cross-Border Sustainable Mobility Work?”
Martin Dobler, Eliut Flores-Caraballo, Francisco Javier Carillo Gamboa, Blanca C. García (Session 1B, Panel)
Day 2, 15:30 – 16:10 UTC: Session 2A, Keynote
The role of the arts for societal change
Prof. Dr Phil. Karen van den Berg, Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, Chair of Art Theory and Curating.
Chair: Prof. Dr Benno Werlen, Holder of the UNESCO Chair on Global Understanding for Sustainability, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany.
Karen van den Berg's keynote session provided an overview of the role of the arts in social change. After some important theoretical considerations, Karen van den Berg showed several impressive examples of approaches to collaborative artist-led urban planning.
In addition to the keynote, a few questions from the Lindau audience and the digital participants were discussed. Benno Werlen, who moderated the session digitally, proposed the questions from the digital participants. The discussion centred on how the participation experience could be implemented in megacities in the global south. According to Karen van den Berg, this already exists in the Global South, so in her view there was no need for additional implementation. She referred to a project in Taiwan. This project, and all the others she showed in her presentation, work at the micro level. They are therefore not applicable as a master plan for an entire metropolis. The projects are an example of how civic responsibility creates a different way of living together and makes the place where people live more attractive and become more suitable for the people who live there, because it is their ideas that shape the plans.
A critical question from the audience in Lindau related to the masses of migrants we have in Germany every year. In her presentation, Karen van den Berg showed examples of refurbished buildings in Chicago using recycled materials. The questioner pointed out that we cannot build an artistic wooden house for 400,000 migrants as shown in the presentation, with which Karen van den Berg agreed. She referred to and suggested the examples from the lecture, which showed run-down people's houses that had been converted into shelters where at least 50-60 migrants lived. These examples are more sustainable than all the containers built for them. The projects are also about improving the neighbourhood by reusing empty spaces and creating ideas for them, which she felt that we have enough of in the cities. And not by thinking about building new ones.
Presentation: Karen van den Berg "Arts for Social Change”
Video Presentation: Karen van den Berg "Arts for Social Change”
Karen van den Berg (Session 2A, Keynote)
Day 2, 16:10 – 17:30 UTC: Session 2B, Panel
Bring Dreams into Reality – the Role of Art
Jakob Wirth, Artist, Activist, Sociologist, Friederike Kaufmann, Cultural Scientist, Activist, Alexander Gérard, Project developer of the Hamburger Elbphilharmonie, Dr. Christina Merl, Translation Science, Communities of Practice, Founder of Poetry in Business.
Chair: Dr Cathy Garner, Lancaster University.
Summary: In this panel the transformative power of art was explored, and the question posed regarding if and how art can be a catalyser for social and ecological innovation and change.
Cathy Garner, Alexander Gérard, Christina Merl, Jakob Wirth, Friederike Kaufmann (Session 2B, Panel)
J. Wirth: The artist’s talk focussed on the question of how art can be used to reach other publics that are not already part of one's own convictions. Another thesis was that it is possible to use artistic methods to create new forms of imagination and stimulate discourse. This was mainly exemplified by the Stoff-Wert project. More information can be found on the websites https://jakobwirth.net/stoff-wert/ and http://stoffxwert.com/.
Day 3 | Thursday, 30th November 2023 | Education and knowledge resources for transformation
Day 3, 08:30 – 11-30 UTC: Morning Session, Workshop 1
Eco-poetry and alternative climate narratives
Coordinator: Dr Christina Merl, Translation Science, Communities of Practice, Founder of Poetry in Business
The goal of this workshop was to provide participants with inspirational input from the arts and empower them to co-develop polyphonic stories about life in urban neighbourhoods. These counter narratives should allow them to change perspective, build awareness, and inspire stakeholders to turn urban neighbourhoods into attractive, liveable, and democratic spaces. Christina Merl’s 2CG® multi-method approach was applied and included a pre-workshop survey with behavioural questions; inspirational prompts; eco-poetry; and customised storytelling activities. cm@christinamerl.
Presentation: Christina Merl “Eco-Poetry and Alternative Climate Narratives”
Day 3, 08:30 – 11:30 UTC: Morning Session, Workshop 2
Bridging the knowing-doing gap through successful transformational processes
Coordinator: Dr Ruth Beilharz, School of Participation
Morning Session, Workshop 2
Day 3, 13:00 – 13:40 UTC: Session 3A, Keynote
Educational Futures: The need of transform learning
Prof. Keri Facer, Professor of Education and Social Futures, University of Bristol, Centre for higher education transformation.
Chair: Dr Cathy Garner, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Lancaster UK.
Professor Facer’s presentation was based on her working paper which was published through the Centre for Global Higher Education in May 2022. https://www.researchcghe.org/perch/resources/publications/working-paper-82.pdf and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7vfklPplEM
It addressed the potential role of universities in developing a new global narrative where reflective thinking, heightened by the pandemic, increased the recognition of the need for the development of critical imagination and thinking for the future. Recognising that millions are struggling to survive and thrive, Professor Facer proposed that universities could play a critical role as they sit at the centre of the infrastructure of imagination.
Critically, she proposes that as they contribute to the climate crisis through their globally based operations but also hold the keys and capacity to drive transformations if they can engage more actively within the system of knowledge and new approaches to the climate crisis and to new economic thinking.
She argues that universities can provide the much-needed scaffolding for social imagination and that their students can be in the forefront of both future thinking and action. In this presentation she proposes two significant recommendations for the transformation of higher education.
Higher education should pivot towards adult learning through community-based, inter and transdisciplinary learning communities oriented toward action research and social innovation directed towards the problems of living,
Higher education should also redefine its infrastructure investment towards what matters for social imagination.
Video Presentation: Keri Facer “Educational Futures: The need of transform learning”
Session 3A, Keynote Keri Facer