20. Symposium on Knowledge & Space: Placing the Future
The 20th symposium in the Klaus Tschira Symposia series on Knowledge and Space focuses on the challenges facing humans as we step into tomorrow. Uncertainty about the future is a key issue in defining the relationship between knowledge and space today. The institutionalization of science and the growth of education have paved the way for a post-industrial knowledge society, an innovation-based knowledge economy, and systemic trust in evidence-based policies. Yet these developments have also catalysed controversy over desired ways of living, who defines “progress” for the future, and how to even know the future in the face of unavoidable uncertainty. Controversies now swirl around how to tackle climate change, environmental sustainability, global pandemics, social inclusion, economic prosperity, and peaceful co-existence – and how to anticipate the many unforeseen issues sure to take shape in the coming decades.
The Knowledge and Space Symposia have focused on the dynamic relationship between knowledge and geography. This 20th symposium seeks to shed light on theoretical challenges, methodologies, and empirical findings regarding the interplay between knowledge, space, and the future. Knowledge is key to understanding the past, navigating the present, and anticipating the future. But as Friedrich Hayek reminds us, knowledge is not given to anyone in its totality. Human understanding requires social exchange, collective meaning-making, and interactive learning across thought collectives and communities. Geographical place and aspirational futures of variably-scaled communities are crucial for sparking new ideas, combining knowledge and creating innovation – all guided by and having real impacts on the future. On the one hand, collective decisions to invest and act towards the future transform places and regions as well as the relations between them. Yet on the other hand, the making of the future itself has a place. Places are crucial for where people meet to breed and spread visions of tomorrow and to mobilize shared commitment and resources to take action.
For more information on the 20th symposium please visit: https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/fakulta...
For more information on Knowledge and Space please visit: https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/fakulta...