IPP 2015 International Conference:
New Humanism, Governance and Sustainable Development
Organizedby Institute of Public Policy (IPP),
South China University of Technology(SCUT) in cooperation with UNESCO
Date：22-23August, 2015
Venue：Guangzhou·China
Conference Co-chairs:
Prof YongnianZheng (Chairman of the Academic Committee, IPP, SCUT; Director, East AsianInstitute, National University of Singapore)
Dr Hans d’Orville (Special Advisor to the Director-General of UNESCO;Honorary Professor, IPP, SCUT)
1. CurrentDevelopment Models and Their Drawbacks
Thepast 70 years of global development has created tremendous material wealth, butthe hefty cost of this type of development is also far beyond any anticipation.For one, in 2008, the global financial crisis was a turning point thatnecessitated a new round of reflection on development models. And then thegrowing consciousness about the need for sustainable development, given theenvironmental or ecological destruction as a result of growth-only strategicorientations added another dimension to the discussions.
Theflaws in present models have also been transferred to developing countries andcausing problems of their own, like those inherent in the “middle income trap”.Others still are mired in political instability or even turmoil, social unrestand inequality or, most recently in health crises which pose seriousconstraints on their economic development.
Asthe world’s largest developing country, China has been highly regarded as asuccessful model for its 30-year rapid economic development. However, China’seconomic achievement has come at the cost of a significant ecological andenvironmental deterioration, climate change, exploitation of natural resources,threats to cultural diversity, growing social inequality, and so on. Thesustainability of China’s development model requires reflection as well,especially as thirty years of 10+ per cent economic growth seems now to bereplaced by a new normal of 7+ per cent.
2. TheAscending Role of Sustainable Development and New Humanism
Theconcepts of sustainability and sustainable development – with the economic,social and environmental dimensions as three pillars - and of a new humanismhave entered the international debate as now orientations for developmentalpolicies. This vision is to define a universal compass to which the realitiesof our times must be tailored to. Sustainability is often seen as an ecologicalissue, but it is no less an issue of our moral economy. Sustainable developmentis inseparable from equality, and equality in the twenty-first century is aboveall equality between men and women. Sustainability means also qualityeducation, which transforms lives and is the main catalyst for humandevelopment, allowing people to adapt to change and reinvent themselves. It isthe sturdiest foundation of society. Sustainability is also found in culturepromoting inclusion and giving confidence, allowing to draw energy from historyto build a lasting future. Culture is the source of resilience. Sustainabilitymeans building the capacities of societies through science, research and thesharing of knowledge, enabling innovation, invention, better anticipation ofrisks and preparation for the hazards of an uncertain world.
Sustainabledevelopment with its three pillars, as highlighted by the Rio+20 UN Conferencein June 2012 and the subsequent efforts to design a set of SustainableDevelopment Goals for the post-2015 development agenda, complementing theMillennium Development Goals, is now the central focus of negotiations amonggovernments and the international community at large. For its part, UNESCO hasadvanced the concept of New Humanism, which puts human beings, especially womenand youth, at the core of development, representing another significantrevision to past trends over-emphasizing economic development. By doing so, itis broadening substantially the focus of development beyond mere economicdeterminism.
Thevision set out for a New Humanism is one that seeks to help people create theirown future. It is not, as was the mostly the case in the former versions ofhumanism, a mere culture for the elites. It is a resource for all individualsand all communities to pursue their own progress and development. Thispresupposes social inclusion of everyone and at all levels of society. At theglobal level, it translates into forms of cooperation that promote thetransformative power of education, the sciences, culture and communication.Every human being must have access to a quality education as well as to thebenefits of science and the capacity to participate in the social and culturallife of his or her community, either at the local or at the global level.
Whileclassical humanism sought to reconcile tradition with modernity, as well as therights of individual with their duties as members of communities, the NewHumanism will have to help reconcile the local with the global, and people withnature. In essence, humanism rests on two pillars. The first pillar is thesearch for the full realization of the individual. It is the emancipation ofthe human person, his rights and capabilities. The second pillar is the feelingof belonging to a single human community, beyond our differences of origin,race, and religion. We have a globalized economy, we have experienced globalwars, but we still fail to produce an authentic human civilization. A NewHumanism will succeed if governments, civil society and the private sectormanage to identify principles of solidarity that meet the requirements of ourera.
3. ConferenceThemes
TheIPP 2015 International Conference will focus on the theme of New Humanism,Governance and Sustainable Development. Global experts and scholars fromprominent universities and research institutes, government officials inrelevant fields, leaders from the UN system and non-governmental organizationswill gather at the conference to discuss relations between sustainabledevelopment, governance and issues concerning New Humanism, and explore newpractical development models for the world, especially the developingcountries. Topics in the lineup include:
1. Reflection on current development models
2. Institutional perspectives: the role ofmultilateral, regional and national institutions for sustainable development
3. Education and sustainable development
4. Gender equality, new Humanism andsustainable development
5. Science, technology and innovation forsustainable development and the impact of new tools of communication andinformation
6. Culture and development diversity
Tentative Conference Programme
Day1
8:30-9:00 Registration
9:00-9:20 Welcomeremarks
University Head, South China University ofTechnology
9:20-10:20 Keynote Speech: Sustainable Development and New Humanism
Dr Hans d’Orville, Special Advisor to theDirector-General of UNESCO;
Honorary Professor& Member of the International AdvisoryBoard, IPP, South China University of Technology
10:20-10:50 Tea Break
10:50-12:20 Panel 1: Reflection on Current Development Models
Chair: Dr Wenlian Cao, Director, International CooperationCenter (ICC) of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China
Invited GuestSpeakers:
Title: TBD
Dr Shijin Liu,Former Vice President (Vice Minister) and Research Fellow of DevelopmentResearch Center of the State Council, China
Global Economic Governance Reform Oriented by Economic Transition
Prof Fulin Chi, President, China Institute for Reform and Development (CIRD),Vice Chairman, CIRD's Board of Directors; Vice Chairman, Chinese ResearchSociety for Economic System Reform
TheTransformative Force of Culture in Sustainable Development: InnovativeApproaches in Practice
MsHelene George, Founder/Managing Director, Creative Economy Pty Ltd
Discussant: Prof Yongnian Zheng ,Chairman of the Academic Committee, IPP, SCUT; Director,East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore
12:20-13:30 LunchBreak
13:30-15:00 Panel 2: Institutional Perspectives: the Role ofMultilateral, Regional
and National Institutions for Sustainable Development
Chair: Ms Mehri Madarshahi, Vice-Chair ofthe Asia, Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation -Beijing; President,Global Cultural Networks；Member of the International AdvisoryBoard & Visiting Professor of IPP, South China University of Technology
Invited Guest Speakers:
Title: TBD
Dr Wenlian Cao, Director,International Cooperation Center (ICC) of the National Development and Reform Commission(NDRC), China
DeliberativeDemocracy Experiments in Chinese Local Governments
Prof Kang Chen, director, MPAM and Chinese Executive EducationProgramme, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University ofSingapore
Development and Challenge under China's"New Normal"
ProfShujie Yao, Director, Nottingham Confucius Institute, University of Nottingham
Discussant: Associate Prof Chenyang Li, Director, PhilosophyProgramme, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang TechnologicalUniversity, Singapore
15:00-15:30 Tea Break
15:30-17:00 Panel 3: Education and Sustainable Development
Chair: Prof FulinChi, President, China Institute for Reform and Development (CIRD), ViceChairman, CIRD's Board of Directors; Vice Chairman, Chinese Research Societyfor Economic System Reform
Invited Guest Speakers:
ESD: Learing byDoing
Mr Abhimanyu Singh, former Director of UNESCO Cluster Office in Beijing
Title: TBD
Mr.Xinsheng Zhang, President, Council of the International Union for Conservationof Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN); Former Vice Minister of ChineseMinistry of Education, China
Significance of the Globalization ofEducation on Building a Global Talent Management Order
ProfHuiyao Wang, President, Center For China & Globalization
Discussant: Prof Shujie Yao, Director, NottinghamConfucius Institute, University of Nottingham
Day 2
9:00-10:00 Keynote Speech: Humanism and Governance: Returning to Confucius
Prof Gungwu Wang, University Professor; Chairman of the Managing Boardof the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; Chairman of the East AsianInstitute, National University of Singapore
10:00-10:30 Tea Break
10:30-12:00 Panel4: Gender Equality, New Humanism and Sustainable Development
Chair: DrShijin Liu, Former Vice President (Vice Minister) and Research Fellow ofDevelopment Research Center of the State Council, China
Invited Guest Speakers:
China's InformalLabor Market: Opportunities and Challenges
Prof Lina Song, Chair, Economic Sociology and ChineseStudies, School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Nottingham
Incorporating Justice intoDecision-making: an Approach to Mainstream Gender Consciousness
ProfXiajuan Guo, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University
Copreneurshipand Women’s Agency in Small Family Firms under theTransitional Economy of Taiwan
Dr Yu-HsiaLu, Research Fellow, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Discussant: Ms HeleneGeorge, Founder/Managing Director, Creative Economy Pty Ltd
12:00-13:30 LunchBreak
13:30-15:00 Panel 5: Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable
Development and the Impact of New tools of Communication
and Information
Chair: Dr Hansd’Orville , SpecialAdvisor to the Director-General of UNESCO; Honorary Professor& Member of theInternational Advisory Board, IPP, SouthChina University of Technology
Invited Guest Speakers:
Strategyto Promote National Innovation and Technological Finance
Prof Yuan Wang, Director, ChinaAssociation for Promotion of Science& Technology and Finance; Former ExecutiveVice President
of Chinese Academy of Science &Technology for Development
GlobalValue Chains and new Thinking on Trade and industry Policy
Prof Yuqing Xing, Professor of Economicsand the Director of Asian Economic Policy, National Graduate Institute forPolicy Studies, Tokyo
China'sBet on Technological Progress as an Engine of Sustainable Growth
ProfDing Lu, Department of Economics, University of the Fraser Valley, Canada
Discussant: Prof Kang Chen, director, MPAM and ChineseExecutive Education Programme, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NationalUniversity of Singapore (TBD)
15:00-15:30 TeaBreak
15:30-17:00 Panel6: Culture and Development Diversity
Chair: Prof Lina Song, Chair, Economic Sociology andChinese Studies, School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, University ofNottingham
Invited Guest Speakers:
Economics as a Cultural Philosophy and Its Impact on Economy Policy
ProfYongnian Zheng ,Chairman of the Academic Committee, IPP, SCUT; Director, EastAsian Institute, National University of Singapore
Dilemma of Globalization in the 21 Century and China's Transition
Prof Hui Qin, Departmentof History, School of Humanities, Tsinghua University
New Humanism with Cultural Roots for theAnthropocene--A Confucian Perspective
AssociateProf Chenyang Li, Director, Philosophy Programme, School of Humanities andSocial Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Discussant: Prof Yuan Wang, Director,China Association for Promotion of Science& Technology and Finance; Former ExecutiveVice President
of Chinese Academy of Science &Technology for Development
17:00-18:00 Roundtablediscussion：
New Humanism, Governance and Sustainable Development
Chair:Prof Yongnian Zheng ,Chairman of the Academic Committee, IPP, SCUT; Director,East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore
Discussants:
Prof Fulin Chi
Dr Hans d’Orville
Ms Helene George
ProfXiajuan Guo (TBD)
Prof Yuqing Xing (TBD)
