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No. 398 | 14.12.2021
Kurz und kräftig. Die wöchentliche Dosis Aussenpolitik von foraus und der SGA. Heute über den stetigen Fortschritt von Neurotechnologien und mögliche Ansätze, das Gehirn vor Manipulationen zu schützen. Mit dieser Ausgabe verabschiedet sich die Espresso-Redaktion in die Weihnachtspause. Wir melden uns am 11.01.2022 mit der nächsten Ausgabe zurück. Wir wünschen Ihnen eine gute Lektüre und schöne Feiertage!
Calls for new ‘neuro rights’ as neurotechnology advances
New technologies that can tamper with brain functions are steadily emerging. Scientists at Columbia University have used infrared stimulation to make mice think to see a light when it was not actually visible. An Australian firm has successfully fed electrodes into paralysed patients’ brains to feed brain activity data wirelessly to a computer to be interpreted, allowing the patients to send emails and texts.
Even though the broad application of such technologies in humans is still far away, such advancements have led leading neuroscientists to call for new internationally entrenched ‘neuro rights’ that protect our minds from manipulation.
And some states are already scrambling to clarify the pertaining rules. This year, Chile has added the right to ‘mental integrity’ to its constitution. Spain is working on a digital rights bill with a section on neuro rights. It remains to be seen if new rights are necessary or if existing fundamental rights will be sufficient. In any case, the vast potential of neurotechnologies, notably in the medical field, are to be taken into consideration.
OpenTTN publication:Quo vadis? Envisioning the future of human mobility in 2050 by the Open Think Tank Network (OpenTTN) in cooperation with the Youth Café Over the past year, the OpenTTN member think tanks Agora, foraus, Polis180 and Ponto, in cooperation with the Youth Café, used an innovative approach to democratise strategic foresight with a focus on migration policy. The contributions of over 100 participants were boiled down into a report with four concrete policy recommendations and a podcast series.
foraus blog:The future of international Geneva by Jofre Rocabert The international organizations that give Geneva its character all face the same challenge; to prove themselves both necessary and fair in front of elites and citizens. How do they face this challenge to assure their future?
SGA-Lesetipp:Entwicklungspolitik unter Klima-Druck von Christoph Wehrli Bei der Bremsung der Klimaerwärmung kommt den Ländern des globalen Nordens eine entscheidende Rolle zu. Zugleich sollten sie im globalen Süden die Verbesserung der Energieversorgung unterstützen. Ein Jahrbuch enthält allgemeine Analysen und Postulate wie auch Beispiele von Handlungsmöglichkeiten.
SGA-Veranstaltungsbericht:Vier offene Türen der EU und klare Worte zur Schweiz von Christoph Wehrli In einer Aussenpolitischen Aula in Lausanne hat EU-Botschafter Petros Mavromichalis seine Enttäuschung über den Bundesrat und die Gewerkschaften nicht versteckt. Es sei an der Schweiz, über ihren Weg zu entscheiden. Für die Zukunft des Bilateralismus sollten die betreffenden Probleme aber so bald wie möglich gelöst werden.
Offener Brief:Setzen Sie ein starkes Zeichen für Erasmus+ von SGA ASPE Breite Allianz aus Wirtschaft, Forschung, Bildung und Kultur fordert die StänderätInnen in einem offenen Brief auf, am 9. Dezember 2021 ein starkes Zeichen für Erasmus+ zu setzen. Der Brief an den Ständerat wurde auch von der SGA | ASPE mitunterzeichnet.
What will some of 2022’s top themes and stories be? Tom Standage, editor of The Economist’s future-gazing annual, “The World Ahead 2022”, gives his prediction.
Agenda
14 December 2021: foraus St Gallen with the European Nations Society – Tensions and Crisis at the Belarusian Border - Let's Discuss
With Ulrich Schmid (Professor with a research interest in nationalism in Eastern Europe) and Sandra King-Savic (Postdoctoral researcher with a research interest in social transformation as well as Eastern Europe).
Tuesday, 14 December 2021, 6.00pm, University of St. Gallen, Room 01-208
15 December 2021: Global Health Centre, Graduate Institute Geneva – Webinar – Biosecurity R&D: lessons from the U.S. from pre-Covid to post-Covid
With Joseph Larsen (Vice President, Strategic Portfolio Development, Venatorx Pharmaceuticals; Former Deputy Director, Division of CBRN Medical Countermeasures, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) and Daniel P. Gross (Assistant Professor, Duke University Fuqua School of Business; Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research). Moderated by Suerie Moon (Co-Director, Global Health Centre, Professor of Practice, Graduate Institute).
Wednesday, 15 December 2021, 4.00 - 5.00pm, online
20 January 2021: Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) – online event – Swiss Ideas on Space Security and Sustainability
With Natalia Archinard (Deputy Head of the Science, Transport and Space Section, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA; Chair of COPUOS Scientific and Technical Subcommittee), Sergey Gugkaev (Chief Commercial Officer, ClearSpace SA; Practical Solutions for Sustainability in Space), Mathieu Bailly (VP Space at CYSEC SA) and Jean-Jacques Dordain (Former Director of the European Space Agency).
Quo vadis? is the podcast that resulted from the collaboration between the Open Think Tank Network and the Youth Café using a Policy Kitchen approach to democratise strategic foresight with a focus on migration policy. Fictitious personas were created to facilitate access to collective scenarios for the future of migration. This episode tells the story of Zabel, who, after moving many times with her family, contemplates what home might look like. Now that the children are all grown up and living in different parts of the world, Zabel gets to choose the best for herself.
Lukas Hupfer Co-Geschäftsführer foraus - Forum Aussenpolitik
Darius Farman Co-directeur foraus - Forum de politique étrangère
