In August and September, the Director of DIE took part in a number of events. Among them were the High Level Panel „UN and Science City Bonn“ and the Humboldt New Mobility Conference.
Inauguration of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy for International Politics
On 25 August 2021, the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy for International Politics was inaugurated in Bonn by the Minister President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Armin Laschet, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and Jean Asselborn, Foreign Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Director of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge was among the guests, too. The Academy is dedicated to global challenges and structural change in international politics. The focus lies on the promotion of international, interdisciplinary scholars and their networking. On behalf of the entire Academy, the DIE welcomes Dr. Mayssoun Zein Al Din, Executive Director of the Academy, to Bonn!
High Level Panel „UN and Science City Bonn“
On 3 September, Prof. Dr. Hornidge participated in the High Level Panel „UN and Science City Bonn“ on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) in Bonn. Organised by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and the Bonn Alliance for Sustainability Research, relevant thinkers from research, the political landscape and the UN were brought together to outline the framework for sustainable cooperation. The panel on „Transform to Survive: A Sustainbale Future for All?“ was attended by Anna-Katharina Hornidge, as well as by the Lord Mayor of the City of Bonn, Katja Dörner, and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch (Rector of the University of Bonn), among others. According to the DIE director, the COVID-19 pandemic proves how countries, scientists and societies in general can unite and work together for the global common good. Radical change is therefore possible, she said, given the urgency of the circumstances.
Inter- and transdisciplinarity in coastal development research
Throughout the month of September, Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge contributed further lectures in connection with the following events: In the workshop on collaboration between the social and natural sciences on 6 September, the DIE Director turned to a rarely discussed topic. The digital workshop organised by the Verbund für Küstenforschung Nordsee Ostsee (KüNO) entitled „Know-how meets know-why: Collaboration of natural and social sciences in German coastal research“ focused on the thematic issue of interdisciplinarity – as a complement to transdisciplinarity, which is already intensively discussed in the literature. Prof. Dr. Hornidge reflected on different epistemologies in scientific disciplines and presented logics and modes of inter- and transdisciplinarity in coastal development research.
One Health
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) hosted a webinar on 13 September around the theme „People, Planet, Prosperity: Rebuilding differently“, inspired by the action pillars of the Italian Presidency of the G20. In collaboration with the KAS office in India, ICRIER has been involved in G20-related research and discussions since 2009. Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge contributed her experience and knowledge from the One Health field. According to the organizers of the webinar, Peter Rimmele (KAS Representative in India) and Ali Medhi (Senior Visiting Fellow and Head of ICRIER’s Health Policy Initiative), the G20 member states are determined to pave the way for innovative reconstruction, following the drastic developments worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Humboldt New Mobility Conference
Also on 13 September, Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge participated in the Humboldt New Mobility Conference, which was initiated by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The virtual format was dedicated to three aspects of „new mobility“: How does new mobility relate to climate change? What are the social and ethical implications of new mobility? And how does new mobility change the way science and research are conducted internationally? The DIE Director accompanied the first panel on the main topic „New Mobility and Climate Change from a Global Perspective“ as speaker. Geographical, social and epistemic mobility are closely interlinked – but in a non-linear way. While the geographic mobility of students could lead to increased epistemic and social mobility, the same geographic mobility for refugees would lead to the risk of social decline. Prof. Dr. Hornidge centered her input on sustainable mobilities in academia. Her reflections were based on empirical evidence on different types of mobility, such as student travel or concrete practices for living with sea level change in Southeast Asia. Similarly, Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge presented some thoughts on how to redesign incentive mechanisms for conference and research travel in Southeast Asia, especially in light of the DIE’s work and projects.
Summer School ‚Ocean Governance for Sustainability‘
The joint Summer School ‚Ocean Governance for Sustainability‘ organised by the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and the DIE took place from 6 to 17 September. Participants included representatives from administrations and management organisations, academia and civil society organisations from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. The ocean and its ecosystems are of greatest socioeconomic relevance to humanity. In addition to providing space for shipping and trade, one of the most important functions of marine ecosystems is the provision of biological and other resources. However, these ecosystems are increasingly affected by human activities and interventions. Urbanisation and coastal population growth are combined with severe marine pollution, altered environmental conditions, and environmental changes such as temperature rise and oxygen deficits that stress coastal environments as well as species life cycles. As a consequence of the various harmful processes, a negative feedback loop on diverse socio-economic systems is occurring. The DIE contributed several sessions on ‚Ocean Governance in the 2030 Agenda‘ by Prof. Dr. Hornidge, Marine Biodiversity Policy by Dr. Lehmann, a simulation game on marine resource governance by Dr. Lehmann and Dr. Schoderer, and an event on coastal-based livelihood systems in a development context by Prof. Dr. Hornidge. The DIE thanks the colleagues from ZMT and IOI for the great cooperation and the participants for extensive discussions from the different regional contexts. A special thanks goes to Dr. Lisa Röschel from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), who elaborated the still very young topic of ‚blue carbon‘ and its role in climate policy discussions.
