Page - 29 - in options, Volume winter 2017/2018

institute news 29www.iiasa.ac.at news at iiasa winter 2017/18 ◼ options IIASA activities surrounding the UN General Assembly An IIASA delegation traveled to New York to take part in several events surrounding the UN General Assembly. Director General Pavel Kabat participated in the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Leadership council meeting and related events. Other IIASA engagements included a presentation on the transition to a low carbon economy by Deputy Director General Nebojsa Nakicenovic and performances by Science and Arts Associate Gloria Benedikt and Distinguished Visiting Fellow Jeffrey Sachs at the ‘’Concert for a Sustainable Planet”. www.iiasa.ac.at/events/UNGA-17 Chocolate as a force for good A delegation from Ferrero, the third largest chocolate and confectionary company in the world, visited IIASA in August to strengthen collaborations and sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Ferrero have already funded three Young Scientists Summer Program participants, and plan to fund a postdoc in 2018. IIASA has collaborated with Ferrero on how to avoid deforestation on palm estates in Malaysia, where the company sources its products. www.iiasa.ac.at/events/Ferrero-17 Cooperation over competition At a high-level meeting orchestrated by the IIASA futures initiative Challenges and Opportunities of Economic Integration within a wider European and Eurasian Space, participants discussed cooperation between the regions, especially in the light of the new joint declaration between Greece—and EU state—and the Eurasian Economic Union and negotiations between Armenia—a member of the EAEU—and the EU. www.iiasa.ac.at/news / EurasianCooperation-17 Arctic advances At the Arctic Circle Assembly this fall, the IIASA-led Arctic Futures Initiative (AFI) welcomed the Arctic Circle as a partner. AFI now combines the expertise of IIASA with the convening power of the Arctic Circle, the largest network of international dialogue on the future of the Arctic. AFI was presented by IIASA Director General Pavel Kabat and former president of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson in a plenary session, and IIASA ran breakout sessions on subjects from the northern sea route and global trade, to Arctic fisheries. www.iiasa.ac.at/events/ArcticCircle-17 C an public debates withstand the mounting threats of hate speech and an anti-liberal zeitgeist? Can sustainable behavior be incentivized without unduly suppressing individual freedom? How do we avoid fraud and manipulation in the media? These are just a few of the questions participants grappled with at the fourth annual retreat of the Alpbach-Laxenburg Group (ALG). Held in August, IIASA leadership and researchers joined global business leaders, investors, and academics in Alpbach, Austria, for the event. The retreat coincided with the Political Symposium of the European Forum Alpbach (EFA), and the closing plenary was co-organized by IIASA and EFA. It began with a dynamic session by the Global Impact Hub Network on how pioneering entrepreneurs can collaborate with governments, private and civic institutions, and society to drive the behavioral, social, and institutional changes needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This was followed by a unique dance-science performance—InDilemma—where four dancers and two choreographers joined forces to collaborate on a piece demonstrating game theory and the mathematics behind conflict and cooperation. Led by IIASA Science and Arts Associate Gloria Benedikt, with IIASA researchers Piotr Magnuszewki and Karl Sigmund, the performance interacted with the audience to demonstrate how cooperation can benefit everyone. The plenary concluded with a panel discussion among ALG members, chaired by former President of Austria, Heinz Fischer. As strategic partners, IIASA and the EFA launched the ALG in 2013. In the past three years, the group has held high-level retreats during the Political Symposia to discuss sustainable development and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. PB Thought leaders gather for ALG retreat Further info including videos from the plenary session: www.iiasa.ac.at/events/ALG-17