For Media:
Novo mesto, 2. 12. 2023
On 30 November and 1 December 2023, the Faculty of Organizational Studies in Novo Mesto in Slovenia in cooperation with the UCLL (Belgium), FINI (Slovenia), Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego (Poland), Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina), Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (Spain), Faculty of Law and Administration of Nicolaus Copernicus University (Poland), Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Szczecin (Poland) and Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (Netherlands) under the Research Centre for the Study of Contemporary Social Issues – RC SOCIAL held a virtual international scientific conference SOCIAL 2023 "Challenges of the Modern World" entitled "The Decline of Democracy and Geopolitical Frictions".
Moderators and panelists from many countries, such as Albania, Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, addressed 8 different but intertweened topics such as migration, social responsibility, sustainable development, hate crime and freedom of speech, free elections and other contemporary human rights issues, digitization, ethics and artificial intelligence, the dual challenges of democratic crisis and crisis in democracy and the challenge of geopolitical frictions.
The central theme of the conference was the awareness of the need to face challenges such as polarization, erosion of trust and decreased work-life balance. It was emphasized that the maintenance of democracy, even if it is not perfect, is vital, as it currently represents the best available form of social order. The conference highlighted the importance of promoting civic participation as a key factor in creating a better future for the coming generations. The creation of new mechanisms to identify fake news and misinformation and to encourage cooperation between like-minded individuals were discussed. The focus was on improving policies at national and international levels to better serve the people. The conference drew attention to the necessity of finding solutions for the upcoming economic crises, and also emphasized the need for solidarity in the context of climate change and migration processes. The development of critical thinking in the education and academic sector has been highlighted as a key response to the increasing amount of manipulative information. The need to share good practices between countries was also expressed. Finally, the important role of the academic community in shaping a better future for all was emphasized.
We ended the conference with the thought of Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan: "When you deprive people of the right to live a decent life, to hope for a better future, to control their lives, when you deprive them of this choice, then you expect them to fight for these rights", which served as a reminder of our common need to stand up for human rights and democracy.
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Novo mesto, 21. 6. 2023
Faculty of Organisation Studies in Novo mesto, Slovenia invites you to the international scientific conference “Challenges of the Modern World” with the title »Decline of Democracy and Geopolitical Friction«, which will be held virtually on 30th of November and 1st of December 2023 ON-LINE.
The primary goal of the conference is to promote research and developmental activities within the topic of challenges in the modern world. We aim to promote scientific interchange between researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners working in and around the world. The conference will be held every year to make it an ideal platform for people to share views and experiences about the different challenges in the modern world.
This call is an invitation for contributors, who conduct research in the areas covered by the conference topics. Our intention is to engage into a meaningful discussion between the moderator, the contributors themselves and the audience. Therefore, contributors will be asked to present short communications of approx. 5 minutes to showcase outcomes of their research, connected to conference topics.
The abstracts from the conference will be published in the Collection of the papers SOCIAL 2023. Authors, which decide to publish full texts as original scientific articles 1.01, can publish them in the Journal for Universal Excellence - RUO (Indexed: dLib, DOAJ, BOAI, EconBiz, ERIH plus, EBSCO, Google scholar, J-Gate, MIAR, ProQuest - CSA Sociological Abstracts, WorldCat (OCLC)); Future Challenges - IP (Indexed: dLib, DOAJ, EBSCO, Google scholar, MIAR); Comparative Law Review (Indexed: SCOPUS, Index Copernicus Journals Master List, ERIH PLUS, CEEOL, DOAJ, Google scholar); Studia Iuridica Toruniensia (Indexed: Index Copernicus Journals Master List, ERIH PLUS, POL-index, Google Scholar, SHERPA/RoMEO). All submissions will undergo a usual peer-review procedure.
Topics of the conference:
- organizational challenges in VUCA context times: diversity and inclusivity leadership, work-related stress challenges, hybrid work, engagment and commitment, division between professional and private life, geopolitical risk, pandemia, etc.
- the dual challenges of democratic crisis and crisis in democracy (erosion of democracy/escalation of authoritarianism),
- geopolitical frictions,
- social responsibility and sustainable development,
- education,
- healthcare,
- environmental challenges,
- migration,
- active aging,
- hate crime and freedom of speech: examining the boundaries of free expression,
- domestic and transnational violence,
- energy, workforce, transport and food challenges.