Named ‘The Unknown, 100 Years From Now’ the conference will feature speakers from all over the world who will be giving their opinions, views and predictions about what planet earth – and indeed the rest of the universe – will be like in 100 years from now.
“In our ever-changing world, it is increasingly difficult to imagine how emerging technologies and practices will shape the world [in] five, 10 or 20 years from now. So to look beyond the short and medium terms and speculate on the world 100 years from now is a considerable but exciting challenge.
“A task of this magnitude requires a multidisciplinary and world-renowned group of experts,” the conference website explains.
Taking place on the weekend of 4 and 5 December, it will feature contributions from Nobel Laureates, political figures, scientists, sociologists, writers and humanists, who “will meet in Lisbon to discuss the world of 2115.”
“Together they will embark on a voyage of discovery as they look to the unknown, 100 years from now”, the organisers explain.
Among the names published on the website are former Portuguese Prime Minister and UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, fellow former Portuguese Prime Minister Jorge Sampaio, author and former President of the European Research Council, Helga Nowotny, and creator of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee.
A spokesperson for the Foundation told The Portugal News: “The Conference forms part of our 10th Anniversary Programme, celebrating the story of the Champalimaud Foundation so far, and looking forward to continuing innovation and invention.
“With this in mind, we decided to host a conference that brought together experts from many different backgrounds, fields and countries - men and women, younger and more experienced, from many cultures – to talk about their ideas, hopes, fears and visions for the future, on a global and local scale, to put Portugal at the very forefront of science, technology and medicine, not just over the next five or ten years, but into the next century.”
The conference will be structured around four thematic clusters - Medicine/Medical Research, Tools of the Future; Science, Freedom, knowledge and values - and will be live streamed on the Foundation’s new Youtube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjZ337tYdjkl974tQsNdwCQ.
Further information is available at the conference website, http://100yearsfrom.today/, and also www.fchampalimaud.org.