History & Objectives
The International Collegium was created in 2002 as an extension of the Group of Ten. Former heads of state, political leaders, as well as philosophers and scholars from five continents have joined together to find answers to the challenges of our time.
"To learn from yesterday is to try to improve today
to save tomorrow "
History
The International Ethics, Science and Policy Collegium is an association based in France which was founded in 2002 by Milan Kučan, president of Slovenia, Michel Rocard, former French prime minister, co-presidents, Stéphane Hessel, vice-president, and Sacha Goldman, Secretary-General. It brings together women and statesmen, philosophers, scientists from five continents.
Origin
The Collegium International wishes to find intelligent and appropriate responses that the peoples of the world expect in the face of the new challenges of our time. A call for the establishment of the Collegium was made public in February 2002 in New York and its members were officially presented on April 2, 2003 in Brussels before the European Parliament.
The members of the Collegium and the associate members, the signatories of the Appeal, are scientists, philosophers and former or current Heads of State and Government, male and female political leaders, as well as parliamentarians and diplomats.
Composition
Co-chaired at its foundation by Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France, and Milan Kučan, former President of the Republic of Slovenia, accompanied as Vice-President by Stéphane Hessel, former Ambassador of France, who was also present at the creation of the United Nations. The Collegium International is now chaired by Jacques Toubon, former Minister and Defender of French Rights, and Pascal Lamy, former Director of the WTO. The group includes: former Presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil and Alpha Oumar Konaré of Mali; Ruth Dreifuss, former Federal Councilor of Switzerland; the philosophers Edgar Morin, Jürgen Habermas and Jean-Pierre Dupuy; the professor of international law Mireille Delmas-Marty; former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson; Nobel Prize winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, former US Ambassador William vanden Heuvel. The other members of the International Collegium are, among others, Bernard Miyet, Bernard Miyet, Michael W. Doyle, Henri Atlan, René Passet, Wolfgang Sachs and Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah.
Goals
The main objective of the Collegium is to shape broad guidelines to guide more concrete actions, with ethical integrity and political viability as a requirement. To achieve this goal, the Collegium relies on the diversity of its members, their political wisdom and scientific knowledge, as well as their experience and integrity. The Collegium strives to offer new and original approaches, capable of dealing with the crisis which threatens the planet and human societies, in ever increasing interdependence.
The Collegium is resolutely engaged in this fight and has already produced numerous essays, a series of publications and an editorial project comprising a collection of books and a white paper.
Take the measure of the disturbances and contradictions of our world, imagine and propose orientations which are at the height of the dangers which threaten the balance of the planet, seek a new meaning to give today to the human adventure, marked by globalization and the interdependence of all countries, all peoples and all human beings: such is the task devolved to the International Ethics, Political and Scientific Collegium for the creation of which we have taken together the initiative to call. By its composition, bringing together both men of thought in the philosophical, scientific and artistic fields, as well as political leaders of great responsibility, by the quality and the number of signatories of our Appeal, by the contacts already established with the Secretary General of United Nations and the members of the G8, the Collegium must be able to assume a mission whose urgency appears increasingly decisive. The radicalization of the crisis which affects all aspects of life on our homeland, requires a new alliance between intellectuals and statesmen to lay the first foundations of a civilizational contract, and to try to respond for the people of the 21st century to the three essential questions, inspired by Emmanuel Kant:
What do we want to do with our planet?
What do we want to do with the human species?
What do we want to do with our life?
Milan Kučan & Michel Rocard, founders of Collegium International