EPTA Conference and Report 2022: Disruption in society - TA to the rescue?

The societal as well as technological dimension of so-called disruptions is the topic of the EPTA Conference on 17.10.2022 in Berlin and the new EPTA Report 2022
Poster: EPTA Conference2022: Disruptions in society - TA to the rescue?
EPTA-Konferenz 2022 - Schauen Sie vorbei
Cover EPTA Report 2022: Disruptions in society - TA to the rescue?
EPTA Report 2022: Disruptions in society - TA to the rescue?

The international EPTA conference will take place all day on Monday, October 17, 2022, in Berlin with members of parliament, scientists and people from the civil society from over 16 different countries. Disruptions refer to drastic, fast-moving changes that are often destructive in nature - such as September 11, 2001, a possible breakup of the Gulf Stream, or the Covid 19 pandemic. The international conference is co-hosted by the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment and the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Parliament (TAB), which holds the EPTA presidency this year. It will begin at 9:45 a.m. in meeting room 3.101 of the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus and end at 5 p.m. 

The three thematic focal points of the conference are:

  • Critical infrastructures (such as the power and water supply, the Internet), whose failure must be prevented at all costs
  • Autonomous weapons systems as an example of software-based systems that make decisions with potentially far-reaching consequences
  • Forests as a prime example of a natural area under severe pressure from climate change and other human activities that threaten to "tip over."

With numerous examples from the international research and consulting practice of EPTA partners and beyond, the conference explores the question of what contribution technology assessment has made and can continue to make to the political and societal management of disruption.

The conference will also feature the launch of the EPTA Report 2022: "Disruption in society - TA to the rescue?", now available online. The report consists of 18 individual contributions from EPTA members offering their unique perspectives on specific aspects of the conference topics based on their recent experiences. In the introductory synthesis, the individual contributions have been analysed and summarised to present overarching themes and to illustrate the various roles EPTA members have taken to support their parliaments in addressing disruptions. The report was initiated by TAB as holder of the EPTA Presidency in 2022.

Time: Monday, October 17, 2022, 9:45 a.m.
Location: Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus, hearing room 3.101 and live on the Internet at bundestag.de.

For detailed information, please visit www.tab-beim-bundestag.de/epta-konferenz-2022

The conference will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.bundestag.de in both German and English.

14. October 2022 (Update 16. October)

Further information and downloads: