Ways out of the polycrisis: Daring to do more prevention – Symposium as part of the "Aldous Huxley Future Forum"

Climate change, economic uncertainty, military conflicts, and rising extremism are fuelling fears and overwhelming feelings among large sections of the population. At the same time, trust in state institutions is eroding. These diverse, interlinked challenges – often referred to as a “poly-crisis” – require systemic and preventive solutions, early warning systems, innovative market mechanisms and targeted communication.

It is hardly a question of a lack of money: in environmental protection, for example, 94 percent of the approximately 80 billion euro spent annually goes towards waste and wastewater management and the remediation of environmental damage – in other words, towards subsequent ‘clean-up work’. The situation is similar in healthcare: 94 per cent of funds are spent on treatment, while prevention and precautionary measures remain severely underfunded. ‘Damage first, then repair’ seems to be the prevailing principle in many areas, whether in the environment and health sector, crisis management or the protection of democratic structures.

But how can this course be changed? Prevention must be worthwhile – it must become a viable and profitable business model. In addition, harmful subsidies must be reduced or redirected towards sustainable alternatives. At the same time, innovative approaches in research and implementation are needed – as well as the political will to translate the complex interactions between biodiversity, climate change, geopolitical crises and human health into concrete measures. Our goal is to identify ways in which we can become more resilient, healthier and more sustainable through greater prevention.
 

PROGRAMME

Welcoming
Prof. Dr. Andrea Rapp (President of the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz)

Keynote speech
Prof. Dr. Nicole Deitelhoff (Leibniz Institute for Peace and Conflict Research, Frankfurt)

Keynote speech
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Britz (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main)

Keynote speech
Prof. Dr. Markus Reichstein (Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena)

Keynote speech
Prof. Dr. Iris Pigeot (Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology − BIPS, Bremen)

Keynote speech
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens Fuest (ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich)

Panel discussion followed by a discussion 
with the speakers and the audience.

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Klement Tockner (Director General of the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, Frankfurt)

Admission is free. Registration required at: https://events.adwmainz.de/polykrise/

Invitation flyer (german version)