The challenge ...

At the beginning of a new millennium the model Sustainable Development is an attempt to find solutions to the great challenges of our time, especially to the question of reorganising the relations between society and nature, north and south, present and future generations. However, a major breakthrough, a wide-ranging change in economy and in life-style still remains very much at large.

It is therefore of prime importance to concentrate responsible forces in society. An important step in this direction is to set up an internet data base listing institutions and scientists in Europe concerned with the idea of sustainable development and its implementation as well as providing information on their performance profile and their specific working fields.

and our answer

A project team started work in May 1999 on setting up a data base in which leading European institutions and experts working on sustainability will be registered. This DataBank Sustainable Development (EUDB) will be useful in the creation of international contacts, especially with regard to East-European countries, and a linkage of persons, projects and activities. It will allow to concentrate research forces, intensify international scientific discourses as well as to generally improve co-operation.

The DataBank is open for all European experts and institutions on sustainability, the entry is free of charge. If you would like an entry, please do not hesitate to fill in the appropriate questionnaire on this website (click on Registration and Update).

Tasks

The DataBank is designed to list institutions, associations, societies and experts throughout Europe involved theoretically and/or practically in the achievement of Sustainable Development on an international, national and regional level. Not only experts in science and related institutions will be registered, but also experts from economy, politics, trade unions, churches, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), citizen’s committees, etc.

Objectives

With this DataBank we intend to participate actively in the European wide effort to implement the concept of Sustainable Development. Essential and fundamental changes of economic proceedings will only be achieved if both profound changes in ethical values and life-style take place in society and co-operation among the diverse organised efforts is improved. The project strives to promote awareness among the general public of the basic ideas of Sustainable Development, to strengthen the international scientific discussion as well as to improve practical co-operation needed for realising the concept.

Concepts

The concept Sustainable Development realises development as a complex interaction of ecological, economic, social and institutional factors. The political respectively institutional factor under this model is perceived significant for achieving the transition towards global justice in the (re)distribution of resources as well as for managing those resources in a sustainable way. As the complexity of the interaction does not allow a single approach to the problems intense co-operation is needed among disciplines, institutional groups and states in terms of theoretical debate as well as in practical realisation.

Europe

Just as different groups within a society assign differing significances to ecological, economic, social and institutional aspects of sustainability so do the individual European countries. The DataBank will contribute significantly towards spreading the know-how and experience of the diverse positions and approaches beyond national confines. Furthermore it will help to establish a network of contacts and to trade experiences and promising approaches across borders. Especially East-European countries are to be granted more consideration in realising the idea of Sustainable Development.

Internet

The DataBank will comprehensively and competently inform in supplying profiles of experts and institutions as well as offering links to homepages of related institutions. Users who are not familiar with the concept of ‘sustainable development’ will find background information on the concept as well as straight forward definitions of key terms and positions. In this way the DataBank contributes towards informing the wider public as well as supporting the co-ordination of different forces in an efficient manner.

Advisory Board

The DataBank project is supported and scientifically consulted by the following international scientists and members of non-governmental organisations: