About the conference
European innovation, to be successful, must be based on human values, because human values reflect what people consider worthwhile in life. The goal of innovation is not only to make life easier, smarter, quantifiably longer or more prosperous, but also to ensure that life remains worth living. Innovation is done for people and by people. Precisely for this reason, values are seminal to the European project.
People differ, however. One important point of difference between people is which human values to prioritise; which goals in life to strive for and which should serve as the basis on which to base moral and affective judgements. For this reason, human values often conflict with one another.
These conflicts become apparent in the grand challenges European societies and citizens face. The environmental crisis, the polarisation between members of society, and the impact on societies of Artificial Intelligence highlight the significance of a critical understanding of human values in designing a future and a context in which we want to live.
Europe is at a critical junction and decisions taken today can transform European socio-economic environment for decades to come. Under the pressure of continents that become more and more repressive of civil liberties, EU member states and a strong European Union could transform profoundly its impact on other societies and build a future of prosperity and justice.
The Objectives of the Conference
The goal of this conference is to generate momentum for a continued and increased inclusion of SSAH perspectives in the future of European research and innovation. The conference has three objectives:
- Promoting a shared vision of human-centric R&I for a more sustainable inclusive Europe
- Demonstrating why SSAH is needed to increase the impact of challenge-oriented research to tackle grand societal challenges
- Supporting a deeper integration of SSAH into future EU and national R&I strategies that inspire a lasting and systemic shift towards transdisciplinary research models that truly reflect the complex challenges of our age
