Synthetic biology might be the next wave of biotechnology. How should public authorities prepare for possible breakthroughs? Update yourself with the latest EPTA briefing note.

Read the brief note here

As holder of the EPTA presidency 2011 TAB and the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag have the pleasure to host the annual EPTA conference.

On October 20th, 2011, renowned representatives of science and politics will discuss on »Hope-, Hype- and Fear-Technologies – the Role of Science and Politics«. The conference will take place on the premises of the German Bundestag in Berlin.

Hope, hype and fear are the attributes of a very heterogeneous group of technologies. They are believed to have the potential to solve global problems (hope), they are associated with far-reaching visions of the future and with overreaching expectations (hype), and because of their impacts that are difficult to foresee and even less to control, they raise concerns no matter whether they are well founded or not (fear). Therefore, these technologies attract a high degree of public and political attention.

Fears and expectations in the public, business activities to assure interests and influence in emerging business areas, contradictory messages of the scientific communities as well as exaggerated media coverage of scientific findings on opportunities and risks in many cases result in serious pressure on decision makers who have to take action and to shape the development of these technologies in spite of but also because of a precarious knowledge base and diffuse interests.

At the EPTA conference three exemplary cases will be explored: Nanotechnology, Internet and Cyberdemocracy as well as Geo-/Climate Engineering. The key questions focused on the political strategies in Europe are: How do agenda setting processes proceed, which political strategies are employed to tackle the problems, how does the interaction between science and politics progress, and what part do media and societal discourses play?

The EPTA conference is open to the public and free of charge. Prior registration is required.

For more information and registration, see here http://www.tab-beim-bundestag.de/en/news/20110712.html

As holder of the EPTA presidency in 2010 the Danish Board of Technology (DBT) had the pleasure to host the annual EPTA Conference.

The EPTA conference took place at the seat of the Danish parliament, Folketinget on November the 3rd. The title of the conference was “Routes to Sustainable Transport”.

The aim of the conference was to throw light on some of the many aspects of sustainable transport and to get an overview of what is going on in the EPTA countries within this field. The conference provided an opportunity for sharing knowledge, experience and ideas among European parliamentarians and experts as well as a discussion of common problems regarding sustainable transport.

There were many good and very interesting presentations at the conference, all of which threw light on important areas relating to the field of sustainable transport. With permissions of the presenters, and encouraged by the conference participants, we have made of the slides for some of the presentations available below.

As a result of a joint project of the EPTA members a report on sustainable transport was written prior to the conference. The report is available here

In addition, a sound recording of the entire conference was made. The sound recording is available here and is in english.

Presentations:

Biofuels and Hydrogen Suggestions for Actions and Initiatives in Flanders - Marian Deblonde (PDF)

Future Perspectives of 2nd Generation Biofuels - Rainer Zah (PDF)

Images of Low Carbon Transport in 2050, Working Paper - Peder Jensen (PDF)

Mobility Management - A New Route to Sustainable Transport - Christer Ljungberg (PDF)

Sustainable Transport from an Economic Perspective - Lessons Learned from the Danish Climate Commission - Niels Buus Kristensen (PDF)

Technology Options and Emerging Technologies - Jens Schippl (PDF)

The Oresund Transport Corridor Connecting Sweden and Denmark with Europe - Henrik Sylvan (PDF)

Transport Crossing Austrian Borders - Challenges and Chances - Willy Raimund (PDF)

Transportation and the Future Energy Supply - Anders Kofoed-Wiuff (PDF)

Links

What role does co-operation between the EU and Developing countries in the field of Science and Technology have to play in the socio-economic development of Developing countries.

Registration by 26 February 2009.

Place: The European Parliament in Brussels
Date: 4 March 2009

For people not having an access top the premises of the European Parliament, registration by 26 February 2009 is mandatory.
In that case, please email also your name, date of birth and nationality (see ANNEX below).

Attached Files

EPTA CONFERENCE 2008: A public debate on the health risks of nanotechnology will not materialize unless scientific research gets more funding soon.

Ellen Silberberg, one of the keynote speakers on the EPTA conference 2008, urged policy makers to address this problem.

About 120 people came together on the conference 'Inspiring Future Politics' in The Hague 27 and 28 October to discuss about the future technology agenda. They were inspired by four scientists who are experts within the public sphere and on how society is changing: chemist Michael Braungart, enevironmental health expert Ellen Silbergeld, sociologist Nikolas Rose and climate expert Pier Vellinga.

For reports and photos see www.eptaconference.eu.