Cultural Resources for Sustainable Development Conference Announcement

An international colloquium on “Cultural resources for sustainable development” will take place in Shanghai, April 25, hotel Four Seasons.

The colloquium is co-organized by the BNP Paribas Foundation and the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, the vice-president of which,, Mr. Chen Yonglong will be present. Former President Jacques Chirac, who was planning to come to China on the invitation of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and to deliver the keynote speech, has been obliged to cancel his visit after he has had a heart pacemaker fitted. Representing the Chirac Foundation, Michel Albert, permanent secretary of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, will deliver the keynote speech, focusing on the role of intercultural dialogue in the common search for sustainable development and the mission that China is called to play in this endeavor. Chinese actors and academics will develop analyses and introduce projects  happening in Shanghai, Sichuan, Fujian and Xinjiang.

Among other speakers, Mr. Jean-Luc Chereau, chairman of the China Carrefour Foundation will present initiatives taken for introducing consumers to a culture of sustainable development. On the side of the colloquium, Benoit Vermander, director of the Ricci Institute will launch two new books, including one of him published in Chinese these days by the Sichuan Nationalities Press on a pilot project in an Yi minority village.

Detailed program available here

Registration: ricciterrapreta@gmail.com

Press contacts: cerise@erenlai.com

 Born in 1930, Michel Albert has had a particularly rich career that developed over several fields. He was appointed as Director of medium term economic policy at the Brussels Commission in the 60's and he became planning Commissioner in France in the 70's, working closely with President Giscard d'Estaing and Prime Minister Raymond Barre. During the 60's, Michel Albert largely contributed to the writing, with Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, of the worldwide best seller, “The American Challenge” which advocated in favor of the monetary union and the political union of Europe while hinting at the prospects of globalization and of NIT.

Under of his own name, he then wrote several best sellers including “Le pari français” (1982), “Un pari pour l'Europe” (1983) and above all “Capitalism against capitalism” which has been translated into 19 languages, and recommended in many universities. Contrasting the “new American” capitalism with the “rhenish” capitalism, this book announced the growing successes of the shareholder value versus stakeholder value. When the Bank of France became independent in 1994, Michel Albert was appointed a member of its board in order to prepare the advent of the euro.

Moreover, he was elected member of the, vice-chairman of the Trilatéral Commission for France, and administrator of the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques. At the international level, his commitment is also visible within the chairmanship of UNIAPAC (International Association of Christians Entrepreneurs). Since 2005, he is the General Secretary of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques.