The 10th annual international conference ‘It’s About People’ organized by the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and the university Alma Mater Europaea began on Friday, 11 March 2022. The first day featured two European Commission vice-presidents and the keynote lecture by Mindy Chen-Wishart, the Oxford Faculty of Law dean.
This year’s most significant international conference in Slovenia is dedicated to ethical aspects of digital transformation. The conference It’s About People 2022 is taking place under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor.
The President and the Honorary President of the Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg, Klaus Mainzer and Felix Unger, and Honorary President of the World Academy of Sciences, Ivo Šlaus, and Brian Norton, MRIA, of the Royal Irish Academy, discussed the future of science in Europe.
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“A Europe based on the principles of democracy and human rights in economic prosperity is currently experiencing one of the most dangerous challenges since World War II. We will survive this challenge with the help of independent digital transformation in environment-friendly innovations,” highlighted the European Academy’s president Mainzer.
Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič spoke about life in the new post-industrial era: “Our world is changing rapidly. We see many megatrends happening around us, such as climate change, increasing pressure on democracy and values, demographic shifts and world order challenges posed by the horrific Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
Slovenia’s Minister for Digital Transformation, Mark Boris Andrijanič, pointed out that the digital inclusion of all parts of society is a priority task of the Government Office for Digital Transformation. “Ethical aspects of the digital transformation are at the forefront during the current war in Ukraine. I am happy that Europe will act in this field together with the establishment of the European Cyber Shield, “Andrijanič emphasized.
Mindy Chen-Wishart, the Oxford University Faculty of Law dean, lectured on racial discrimination. Chen-Wishart, who initiated the RaceMeToo movement, shared her personal experience of an Asian woman in Europe. “When you face racism with sufficient regularity, it is exhausting,” she said.
On Monday, 14 March 2022, Euractiv and Alma Mater Europaea will host a roundtable on artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles and the pro-et-contra debate on passport abandonment. It will feature Dimitry Kochenov, professor at the Central European University and Jurij Toplak, professor at the University of Maribor and visiting professor at Fordham Law School in New York.
“All students participate in this conference. Doctoral students present their research, master prospectives publish reviews, and undergraduates write presentation summaries,” said Dr. Sebastjan Kristovič, Alma Mater’s study process coordinator. Alma Mater Europaea has 1,600 students and the highest employability of graduates among universities in Slovenia.
The European Academy of Sciences and Arts is an association of 2,000 scientists, including 33 Nobel Prize winners. The academy is based in Salzburg.