WHAT IS OIKOS TALKS?
oikos Talks is a series of interactive panel discussions around one topic per semester. Our talks take place regularly throughout the year and cover a
variety of topics, current ecological challenges, and social issues. Each talk
benefits from a professional set up of experts from different fields and
academic backgrounds. The aim is to inform, educate, and create awareness.
Through online and on-site events we are able to connect with like-minded people all over the world.
Ready To Take the Loop?
Last Talk Series: Circular Economy
Here you get an overview of all our last talks of the series Circular Economy.
In the last talk of the series we intended to address the policy making and the with it coming process. We wanted to bring clarity into the debate on climate policies. Which policies do we need? Which are to loose? Especially after the IPCC experts warned us once more that things have to change fast if we want prevent the worst from happening.
Do you know the issue of wanting to contribute to the circular economy, but not knowing how to go about it? Finding solutions to this struggle was the motivation for our third talk in the series “Circular Economy – Ready to take the loop?”. Together with our experts, we questioned our private use of natural resources and discussed different areas of our daily life where we have the possibility to contribute to a more sustainable and circular system. Even though it sometimes seems that we as individuals have no impact on our economic system, we can not only lead a more sustainable life by living a plastic-free lifestyle or repairing electronic devices instead of buying new ones, for example. We can also motivate others to follow our example and adopt a sustainable way of living, too. If you want more tips on how to transform your everyday life go and watch the talk.
The second talk in our series “Circular Economy – Ready to take the loop?” took place on January 19, 2022, as an online event. At our panel discussion “Someone’s Waste is Anoter One’s Treasure”, we spent about 1 1/2 hours on the topic of waste management. After clarifying what is actually considered waste, we went on a journey through the Austrian waste management system. While there is a lot of conversation about recycling waste materials, we need to determine whether this is enough to be consistent with the idea of a circular economy. And what can we all do to contribute to an environmentally sustainable waste system?
New Semester, new Challenges, new Talks series. This time we shed a light on the different aspects of the circular economy. With the growing complexity of contemporary challenges, it is time to become creative and innovative, especially in terms of resource management. Therefore, it is high time to shift away from the outdated linear economy model and close the circle. This seems obvious to those who are already familiar with the field of sustainability; however, how does it work in practice? How can we shift from linear to circular, what are the challenges there, and what has already been achieved will be the focus of this semester’s talks series.
Reconomy
A Brave new business world
We kicked off this series with our talk on Social Entrepreneurship. Indeed, a sustainable future of business does not only comprise a focus on the environment. Also, the social dimension of sustainability is increasingly important. It is crucial that entrepreneurial activities aim at finding innovative, pragmatic, and long-term solutions for social problems. Thereby we can achieve positive change in our society.
When we think of our economy we think of growth, right? Our welfare is measured in GDP and capitalism is the system that brought us all the wealth we know today (at least some of us). Is that really it? Together with our experts we discussed if there are other alternatives to capitalism. We discovered the world of degrowth and its advantages. As usual in oikos Talks we always talk about the disadvantages, the challenges, and what it would mean for the consumer. Our speakers informed equipped us with some practical knowledge that we can implement in our daily lives to support the degrowth thought.
More and more banks are offering investment opportunities for their customers with a binding promise to invest their money exclusively in sustainable organizations. The burning question is, however, what does sustainable even mean? And how would such an investment even look like? For most of our audience, the jungle of labels and, abbreviations is so dense, that it is almost impossible to gain certainty about one’s investment. Apart from that, why should we even invest in sustainable assets? What’s the benefit for my wallet, the companies, and in the bigger picture, the sustainable transformation? We had the pleasure to discuss these questions with extraordinary speakers from the investment and finance field. All of them are experts in the field of sustainable investment.
When we talk about sustainable change, we can’t move past innovation. And what would be innovation without a discussion about Artificial Intelligence? Most people, however, think about some sci-fi-like robots when they hear the word AI. We don’t automatically connect the term with sustainability and the chances that this technological progress brings along. In this talk, we invited experts who explained how exactly AI could and already is, contribute to creating a more sustainable future economy. We shed a light on the term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and what it really is while talking about the challenges and chances for our future economy. Our experts’ panel was made up of researchers, entrepreneurs and experts from the field of AI.
How to find us
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Harrachgasse 21
8010 Graz
Austria - +43680 4035103
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info@graz.oikos-international.org
useful links
Your local partner for responsible leadership, sustainable economics, and academic transformation.
oikos Graz – Studierende für Nachhaltigkeit
IBAN: AT71 2081 5000 4388 3792