What will be required to fght. cybercrime effectivelyinthe future?. One very important step towards better. security is incentivizing organizations to focus more on security and to apply. best practices. Security must transition. from avoluntary cost factor - which.organizations tend to minimize - intoa. mandatory cost of doing business. One. way of achieving this is establishing. legislation that mandates minimum levels. of security, e. g., as has been done for. certain sectors bythe new German IT. security law. Of course, we also need to ensure that information technology. matures and thatthe state of securityand privacy improves overall. One key. area of activity will be education for. professionals - every computer engineer,every programmer must know at leastthe basics of security and privacy. And,last but not least, we need to invest inresearch,in particular,in how to measure. security and how to achieve securityand privacy by design.
Prof. Dr. Michael Waidner. Director ofthe Fraunhofer Institute for Secure. Information Technology (SIT); Professor at TU.
Interview with:24 25spills, damaging fragile reef systems,and dumping garbage and sewage.
Shipping vesselsare also aprimary. method by which invasive marine. species spread to new environments,often wiping out native speciesand destroying local ecosystems.
Discussions of climate change have. long focused on greenhouse gasesand limiting emissions. Today, that. conversation has moved from air to water,as scientistsare discovering how theocean revealsthe state ofthe planet. not justinthe dwindling species and. mountains of trash, butinthe changing. chemistry ofthe water itself. Oceans. absorb about one-third ofthe carbon. dioxide released intothe air, and as. levels of environmental
years. The resulting phenomenon,called ocean acidifcation, imperils. thousands of aquatic species, especially corals, crustaceans, mollusks, and. some species of plankton.
Amidthe many diffculties, however, are. considerable signs of hope. A growing. group of activists, scientists, policymakers,and even everyday citizens are.determined to usethe same power. that humans have long wielded to thedetriment of our oceans to redeem this. precious resource.
Major international collaborations,such as those led bythe United Nations,Greenpeace, and Conservation. International, have raised billions to bring. awareness and action to preserve theworld’s marine habitats. Increasingly,nationsare pioneering their own efforts. as well. The German Federal Ministry. of Education and Research (BMBF)
recently announcedthe theme for.
Turningthe Tide on Ocean Destruction. Ov industrialization and population explosion, erthe past century,the forces of along with overfshing, pollution, and coastal.destruction, have pushedthe world’s oceans tothe brink of ecological collapse. A snapshot ofthe state of marine life leaves much to lament -. more speciesare endangered or extinct than any. timein human history, crucial reefsare eroding,and an estimated fve trillion pieces of plastic are. afloatinthe world’s increasingly polluted waters.
Public awareness campaigns have done little to curbthe flow of garbage intothe world’s. waterways. Eighty percent ofthe plasticin theocean originated as beach litter or washes intothe sea from rivers, fatally ensnaring or choking. fsh and marine mammals who mistake theseobjects for food.
Asthe world’s population grows,the oceans. bearthe burden of satisfying human appetites. not just for food, but for goods shipped. from afar to markets aroundthe globe. More. than half of global fsh populationsare fully. exploited - there is no more room for growth. - and fully one-thirdare overexploited to thepoint of collapse. Without aglobal shift to more. sustainable fshing practices, experts warn thatthe world’s fsheries could collapse as awhole. before ***
Massive shipping vessels tirelessly crisscrossthe seas, transporting goods from. one side ofthe world tothe other, leaving toxicthe most ancient place on Earth. isn’t an obvious site to look. for wisdom aboutthe future.
But when it comes tothe fate. of our planet and its delicate. environment, our oceans are. a rich source of information.
billion years, since life. frst began,the oceans have. been home to countless species.
But nothing has impacted theEarth’s waters more than. a species that arrived just. 200,000 years ago - humans.
By Hallie Kapnerthe aim of this conference was to help solve today’s global challenges by. bringing together scientists from various. backgroundsinthe natural and social. sciences from
Sustainable Ocean.development Conference:A Perspective from
However,inthe last decade,the sea. level has risen twice as fast as awarming. ocean could explain. The melting. of land-based glaciers and ice sheets. is providing signifcant extra runoff water tothe ocean. A warming ocean and. atmosphere change ocean circulationand wind patterns. Today, those. changesare still small, butthe expectation. is that they will grow with time. Increasing. levels of
dissolvesinthe ocean water and. changes its chemistry. The pH dropsandthe ocean becomes more acidic.
This process - called ocean acidifcation. - is expected to worseninthe future.
Many other secondary effects exist,including aslower uptake of oxygen. becausethe solubility of warm water. is lower than that of cold water.
Together with amore active marine. ecosystemin awarmer climate,the level of dissolved oxygen willbe reduced. We call this ocean.deoxygenation.
Why isthe biodiversity. of marine ecosystems so important?. From ahuman perspective,the ocean. provides many services that are. important for human survival. It provides. 50 percent ofthe oxygen we breathe,90 percent of long distance transport,and 95 percent of telecommunication***
Half ofthe global population is.dependent on marine food, which. constitutes roughly 20 percent of its. protein diet. Fish and algae both.depend on ahealthy and productive. ecosystem and research shows that. a more diverse ecosystem is more. resilient to change and stress.
The protection of marine biodiversity. is one ofthe measures necessary. for maintaining ahealthy and. productive marine ecosystem.
Whereare GEOMAR’s research vessels. located? What type of research is being. conducted on these vessels?. GEOMAR scientists have access toa. German fleet of research vessels. thefleet is owned bythe German governmentand operated by different institutes on. behalf ofthe research community. We. operate an ice breaker (Polarstern), two. ocean vessels (Sonne and Meteor), and. several regionally operating vessels(Merian, Poseidon, Alkor, and Heinke).
All vesselsare designed as multipurpose. ships that can support awide range of marine science. That includes hydrographic. measurements ofthe physical, chemical,and biological properties ofthe ocean.
They also conduct sea floor observationsand seismic imaging as well as provide. support for an increasing range of autonomous vehicles, including adrifter,profling floats, gliders, propelled. autonomous vehicles, and moored. observatories. We look at changes inwater mass properties, circulation, andthe ocean’s biogeochemistry as well as. further explorethe discovery of new speciesand geological sea floor properties. Weare interestedin discoveringthe deep. ocean and understandingthe oceans’. rolein climate dynamics andthe marine. ecosystem. Weare exploring new ways to use ocean resourcesin amore justand sustainable manner.
Prof. Dr. Martin Visbeck. Head ofthe Research Unit,Physical Oceanography, GEOMAR. Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research
Bringing innovation tothe darker, more. challenging aspects of society is notoriously. diffcult, yet overthe past decade, aconcept. known as social innovation has shown that. “doing good” can be both ameans and avery. successful end.
Social innovation is familiar by way of examples,including microfnance,the Fair Trade movement,and cap-and-trade emissions policies. Each. addresses asocial problem by blurring thetraditional boundaries of government, privateand nonproft sector solutions, creating anew. space where problemsare solved tothe beneft. of all. By defnition, social innovation is asolution to asocial problem that is more effective thanthe current systems, and through which value. accrues not to an individual, but to society as ainthe 21st century, it doesn’t take much to call something “new. ”the pace of innovationinthe technology sector alone is dizzying,and anyone with access tothe Internet can testify tothe nonstop parade. of newer, better, and faster ways to accomplishthe tasks of daily life.
Social Innovation:A New Path for Creating Social Change. 28 29whole. The solution itself need not beentirely novel - fnancial loans, for. instance,are not new. But situated within. a new context - using small loans as. a means to spur entrepreneurship among. those with no access to traditional. banking - anew paradigm for poverty. relief and social change was born.
The social innovation movement springsin part from an acceleration of some. global crises, including climate change,mass migration, aging populations, and. fnancial market collapse. The strain of such stresses exposes weaknessesin thetraditionally siloed systems of governmentand business, pavingthe way for an. environment where new systems can. emerge and social innovation can thrive.
Like many other countries,
The International German Forum, foundedin 2013 by Chancellor Angela. Merkel to facilitate international exchange. on complex issues, convened its second. annual conferenceinThe theme,“What Matters to People - Innovationand Society,” focused on exploring thepotential for social innovation to improve. societal well-being. Experts fro***
countries attended, includingthe director. ofthe
“We know that economic growthand employment rely on more than just. technological development,” said MinDir.
Matthias Graf von Kielmansegg, Director. General for Strategies and Policy Issues atthe German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
“Research to better understand social. innovation and how to foster it is an. important element ofthe new High-Tech. Strategy ofthe German Federal Ministry,”. he said.
The roots of social innovationare already. taking hold, with
By Hallie Kapner. “The social innovation movement. springsin part from an acceleration. of some global crises, including. climate change, mass migration,aging populations, and fnancial. market collapse. ”. Social innovation is onthe rise worldwide. As anovel approach to addressing.complex problemsin global health, socialcare, education, and environmental policies,social innovation has been embraced by. stakeholders and communities atthe local,regional, and even national levels. thespeakers discussed success factors that lead to lasting social change, how cross-sector. dynamics can be enhanced to create. sustainable social value, and how different. social, economic, cultural, and historical. contexts enable or inhibit social innovation.
Leading social innovators from North Americaand Europe tackled these issues during. a workshopthe following day.
Event Speakers:_. Kriss Deiglmeier. CEO, Tides. Prof. Dr. Josef Hochgerner. Senior Strategy Advisor. Centre for Social Innovation
Transatlantic Perspectives. on Social Innovation. October 6,Co-Sponsor:_. Why is social innovation An important topic for
Innovation policiesare of critical importance. because they havethe potential to facilitate. societal participationin social innovation. on alarger scale. Policies can increase. involvement, for example, through. co-creation and citizen empowerment.
Policies should take into account thepotential of social innovationin thesocial economy, civil society, businesses,andthe state (multi-level governance),as well as promote alliances between. universities, companies, andthe state. around social innovation.
How can universities cultivatethe next. generation of social innovators?. We need universities and research institutes. as important drivers of social innovation.
Universities and research institutes play. a signifcant roleinthe feld of technological. innovation, but until now have not been. systematically involvedin processes of social innovation. The emerging issue of University Social Responsibility has shown. that there is untapped potential for higher. education institutions to be socially. innovativein relation to their environments.
This can be observed atthe local level,in which universities establish relationships. with communities and neighborhoods inorder to participateinthe processes of problem-solving. In this sense, one central. question is how universities can become. systematically involvedin social innovation. processes beyond typical top-down patterns. wherethe former create solutions and thelatter just playthe passive role of atarget. group that receives support. Concepts like.design thinking or action research may help. universities and research institutes get. involvedin social innovation processes.
Atthe same time, intermediary structures,such as social innovation laboratoriesand social innovation centers have been. establishedin local communities, cities,interministerial and transnational contexts. - sometimesin cooperation with universities.
Such structures have gained importance. especially atthe local level. Yet despite. their growth bothin terms of sheer numbersand diversity, thereare still only afew. successful examples. With more and more. of these intermediaries emerging, we willbe able to better understand and develop structures and strategies for social innovation forthe urban environment alongside their counterparts for technological. innovationin acomplementary way.