Awarding of the Second Demography Prize in Berlin

On 5 March 2010 the 2nd Demography Prize was awarded as part of the proceedings of a symposium entitled "Where to for the youth? Making use of opportunities in shrinking regions". The symposium was organised in collaboration with the state chancellery of Brandenburg and took place in the Federal Representation of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Berlin. During the proceedings the awardees introduced their work, followed by a discussion on the opportunities for young people in shrinking regions. The 60 participants were in unanimous agreement that the youth have an increasingly crucial role to play in the creation of opportunities for demographic change.

You may find further documentation of the event here (in German). 

Next Issue

Intergenerational Justice Review 1/2010: 

Future individuals are not yet born, that is why they are unable to be involved in today’s decision-making process. Therefore their interests are all too often neglected. The principle of deliberative democracy, in its narrow form, can collide with the imperatives of intergenerational justice. The frequency of national elections every four or five years leads to a focus of politicians on the needs and desires of present citizens — their electorate. This may result in political short-termism. This IGJR issue deals with ways to reconcile democracy with intergenerational justice (or sustainability – if understood as safeguarding the needs of future generations) by institutionalising the interests of future generations in the decision making process of today. Conflicts between present and future generations can arise if, for instance, the present generation fails to care for the environment. The conflict is especially apparent if this lack of care triggers perilous climate change. Conflicts can also arise in financial politics. Rising budget deficits and high public debts may harm the interest of future generations. In politics we may well consider these two issues the most relevant ones. Thus the upcoming IGJR issue will focus on the implementation of intergenerational justice through legally guaranteeing environmental sustainability and financial solidity.

You can find the full call for papers here.

CURRENT ISSUE

the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations presents a new issue of IGJR:

Intergenerational Justice Review 4/2009:
“Children’s and young people’s rights - with a
focus on the right to vote”

The convention on the Rights of the Child spells out the basic human rights that children and young people everywhere have. The four core principles of the Convention as detailed by UNICEF are: nondiscrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; as well as respect for the views of the child. This convention is legally binding and fundamental to the lives of children today. As these basic human rights are held as a standard across the world, is there a need for further development of children’s and young people’s rights? Are children and young people today really treated as individuals who have opinions of their own?

Intergenerational Justice Review 3/2009: “Climate change and intergenerational justice”

General theories of intergenerational justice must answer two main questions: What to sustain for future generations? And how much to sustain? The field of global warming is a manifest example for the competition between the interests of present and future generations, making it an ideal case for the application of general theories of intergenerational justice.

Read more on IGJR here.