Global UNESCO Chair Lecture Series IV: The World in 2050

In a rapidly evolving world, preparing for the future requires innovative thinking, interdisciplinary perspectives and collaborative action. The 4th edition of the international UNESCO Chair Lecture Series “The World in 2050: Global Futures” explores the critical challenges and transformative opportunities that are reshaping our social, economic, political and ecological systems.

Bringing together leading experts and UNESCO Chairs from different disciplines and world regions, the lecture series creates a platform for dialogue on possible futures and the choices that may shape them. Topics include anticipation and foresight, innovation, finance and education, as well as the complex relationships between global transformation processes and local realities. By connecting diverse perspectives, the series seeks to deepen our understanding of how more equitable, sustainable and resilient futures can be imagined and created.

The lecture series is an integral component of the module Designing Futures: Themes, Methods and Technics of ‘Futures Studies’ of the digital Master’s programme “Transformation and Sustainable Living Spaces – Reshape Tourism” at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. 

The lecture series programme is organized by the UNESCO Chair in Interdisciplinary Anticipation and Global-Local Transformation at Eurac Research Bolzano/Bozen, Italy, in cooperation with the Catholic University Eichstätt/Ingolstadt, Germany, and UNESCO’s Futures Literacy and Foresight, Management of Social Transformations Programme. 

Together, these partners create an interdisciplinary and international space for exploring one central question:

What kind of world might we live in by 2050 and how can we actively contribute to shaping it?

All lectures will take place online via Zoom. 

Registration for the Zoom link will open here soon. Stay informed and check back on our website for updates.

A certificate of attendance is available upon request to participants who have attended at least four lectures and must be requested by 15.02.2027. Please send your request to: elina.stoermann(at)ku.de

Participation is free of charge.

Language: English

The full programme will be available soon.

Scientific and organizational coordination: 

Professor Harald Pechlaner, Founding Chair of the School of Transformation and Sustainability, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany 

Roland Benedikter, UNESCO Chair in Interdisciplinary Anticipation and Global-Local Transformation, Eurac Research Bolzano/Bozen, Italy

Clare Stark, Head of UNESCO Futures Literacy and Foresight, Paris, France 

For further questions, please contact: elina.stoermann(at)ku.de