Workshop on Ancient Wisdom for Modern Challenges

The Workshop on Ancient Wisdom for Modern Challenges took place in July 6-8, 2022, in Athens, Greece. International scholars of philosophy, policy science, behavioral science, and other interdisciplinary fields, met at the famed Academy of Athens to explore how ancient philosophy can inform our modern understanding of ethics and well-being, and thereby help to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including climate change, shifting geopolitics, and rising inequalities.

This workshop was organized by SDSN, SDSN Europe , SDSN Greece , Alliance of Excellence for Research and Innovation on Αephoria (AE4RIA), Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University , Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) at Athena Research Center Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation and Research Laboratory on Socio-Economic and Environmental Sustainability (ReSEES) at Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) hosted by the Academy of Athens , under the auspices of the Municipality of Athens.

The workshop was supported by Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation , a public benefit cultural institution which promotes -in Greece and abroad- the Greek culture and especially Greek letters and historical and nautical research, Sani/Ikos Group , a leader in sustainable hospitality across the Mediterranean and member of the United Nations Global Compact, Alliance of Excellence for Research and Innovation on Αephoria (AE4RIA), an initiative for collaboration between research institutions, innovation accelerators and science- technology-policy interface networks, focused on sustainable development as Gold Sponsors and by Goulandris Natural History Museum (GNHM), the first museum in Greece that launched environmental education in the country as Silver Sponsor.

This workshop is a continuation of the activities of the Symposium titled “Neo-Classical Economics Reconsidered within Plato’s and Aristotle’s Epistemological and Ethical Framework” which was organized from July 29 to August 2, 2019 by SDSN Greece and hosted at the Historical Library of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation.

Next year, on July 3-7, 2023, the current group of participants will join forces with the Chinesse Academy of Social Sciences and the City of Beijing , while the theme of the workshop will be Aristotelian Philosophy and Confucianism paving solution pathways to Modern Challenges. The "Aristotle-Confucius Symposium" will be held at the Academy of Athens.

More details about the specific sessions can be read here. Watch the recordings: