29 & 30 May, 2006
Seminar Technologies Converging at the Nano-Scale:
Implications for biodiversity, poverty eradication and
the economies of the Global South
Pat Mooney and ETC Group 29 May, 19-20.30, Uppsala
Many observers now agree that nano-scale technologies represent the biggest and fastest technological revolution the world has ever seen. Industry sources predict the value of commercial products
incorporating nanotechnology will reach $2.6 trillion (15 percent of global manufacturing output) by 2014 – 10 times biotech and as large as the combined informatics and telecom industries. With more scientists working on nanotechnology in the immediate vicinity of Beijing than in all of Western Europe – at 1/20th the cost of a Western European scientist, little attention is being paid to the socioeconomic or environmental impact of the technology. Even less attention is being paid to the potential economic opportunities and trauma for developing countries – especially with respect to their agriculture, environment (especially biodiversity), raw materials and export commodities, energy demands and medical needs.
The discussion at KSLA will introduce the potential positive and negative dimensions of this new technological wave and its implications for marginalized people in the Global South. Themes include intellectual property and corporate control, global trade and commodities, regulation, health and environmental risks.
Welcome!
Programme
09.00
Convening, coffee
09.30
Welcome address Bruno Nilsson, Secretary General and Managing Director, Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Urban Emanuelsson, Director, Swedish Biodiversity Centre
09.40
Introduction Pat Mooney, Executive Director, ETC Group
10.30
Refreshments
10.45
Reflections on speakers presentation Bengt Gustafsson, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, Uppsala University
11.05
Discussion
For almost three decades, the ETC Group (formerly known as RAFI) has addressed the impact of new technologies on rural communities, and is dedicated to the conservation and sustainable advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human rights. The ETC Group supports socially responsible developments in technologies useful to marginalized peoples and it addresses governance issues affecting the international community. Read more: “The potential impacts of Nano-Scale technologies on commodity markets: The implications for commodity dependent developing countries”, and “A tiny primer on Nano-Scale technologies and the little bank theory”.
ETC Group’s Executive Director, Pat Mooney, is the author or co-author of several books on the politics of biotechnology and biodiversity including “The ‘ETC’ Century: Erosion, Technological Transformation, and Corporate Concentration in the 21st Century” (published by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation) and (with Cary Fowler) “Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity”. He received The Right Livelihood Award (the “Alternative Nobel Prize”) in the Swedish Parliament in 1985. In 1998 Mooney received the Pearson Peace Prize from Canada's Governor General.
Bengt Gustafsson, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, Department of Astronomy and Space Physics, Uppsala University. He has, alongside his academic career, been engaged in various activities related to research ethics, environmental and security issues, sustainable development and development assistance.
Date
30 May, 2006
Venue
Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry
KSLA, Drottninggatan 95 B, Stockholm
Fee
Free of charge
Registration
Registration in writing must be sent by 23 May 2006 to
Keiko Blesserholt keiko.blesserholt@ksla.se
Cancellation must be made 1 week in advance.
Registration is binding on all the participants. In case of ‘no-show’ without advance notice, cancellation fee (SEK 500) will be charged to such person.
29 & 30 May, 2006
Download Programme and registration form 
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