Conference Opening of the Humboldt Cosmos Multivrsity Nov. 2012 at La Laguan University, Tenerife

1. Humboldt Cosmos Multiversity (HCM)
Conference Smart Cities – Smart Regions - Smart Islands
Introduction by
Günter Koch
General Secretary of The New Club of Paris
Nov. 20th 2012
U.L.L. La Laguna, Aula Magna, Facultas de Matemáticas y Física,
Avda. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, S/N.
www.humboldt-kosmos-multiversity.org

2. Munich – a model city (1.5 Mio.)
~ 800.000 productive inhabitans,
mainly working in services
~ 120.000 = 15% ↗ in so called
cultural & creative „industries“

4. Evolution : developing beyond the HOMO OECONOMICUS !
Money !

5. Increase in „dematerialisation“ of economy
Anteil immaterieller Vermögenswerte am Marktwert S&P 500
Intangible Assets
Tangible Assets
100%
17% 32% 68% 80%
75%
50%
25%
83% 68% 32% 20%
0%
1975 1985 1995 2005
Quelle: Ocean Torno
Research made by (usually
conservative) financial auditors:
80% of the values of economic
organsiations are IMMATERIAL

6. General Trend in employment (and economy)
Growing
intelligent =
smart services

7. Smart Cities – Smart Regions - Smart Islands:
… for smart people

8. „Hierachies“ Knowledge
Society
Kmow-
ledge
Politics
Knowledge Knowledge
Economy Culture

10. Contributions so far of The New Club of Paris
on Smart & Knowledge Cities / Regions /Nations

11. Places of „visioning“ and
„foresighting, e.g. Vienna
Coffee Houses serving as …
• newspaper libraries
• debating clubs
• offices for „men of letters“
• lobbying halls
• conspiration spaces

12. Coffee House Culture, Culture and Intellectual Progress in Vienna
• Quantum Physics
• Zionism
• Leninsism
• Positivism
• Constructivism
• Neoliberalism
• Creative Destruction /
Innovation
• Knowledge Economy

13. Thinking on and working for the future of the Canary Islands /
Tenerife needs a home: La Casona in Tacoronte

14. The Humboldt Cosmos Multiversity (HCM): What is it?
Since we know, that
our universe may
not be the only one
our view on the
world has become
wider and richer –
from mono- to multi-
and finally to trans-
disciplinarity

15. The Humboldt Cosmos Multiversity (HCM) : Basic functions
Conference Educa-
Commu- tion, Workshops
nication Courses, (following the
& Confe- next gene- „ACSI philosophy“)
rencing ration quali-
fication
Institute of Advanced Studies
(„Think Tank“)

16. 22. November November 2012 in 23. November
Pilosophy & Arts Knowledge Economy
Knowlege & Soc. Networks Future Society
Work- shops
24. November
27. November
Innovation &
Creativity Dev‘t of Tenerife
28. November
Ecology & Landuse

17. The real current challenge for HKM

18. HKM Working Method :
Open Innovation within an Innovation Network

19. Today‘s self imagination of the Humboldt Kosmos Multiversity

20. My own key experience: Participating in turning „old“
Bilbao
into a recognised & attractive place in the world (1993 ff)
Günter Koch
Founding &
General Director

21. Thank you for your attention –
and, please, turn this attention into support for and
cooperation with the Humboldt Kosmos Multiversity

22. Reserve Slides

23. Example Morocco: Re-profiling cities or regions by developing their (new ) identity

24. What is a „Multiversity“ ?
• A group organised by the New Club of Paris (NCP) initiated by G. Koch
met in autumn 2008 (!) at Commerzbank Headquarter Frankfurt (G. Szogs)
to first time discuss a new university concept under the headline „Multiversity“
• The NCP idea was on reformation / substitution of university. (NCP Discussion
has been taken up by the European Academy of Science on university reformation)
• Aalto (University) Campus of Society Innovation (ACSI) started in 2010 a new
„education for innovation“ project under the participation of NCP.
Major impulse for the „Multiversity“.
• Multiversity - as a term – was first time introduced by
President of the (entire) Universities of California (UC) Clark Kerr in 1963 (!):
„The ‚Idea of a University‘ was a village with its priests.
The ‚Idea of a Modern University‘ was a town with intellectual oligarchy.
The ‚Idea of a Multiversity is a city of infinite variety… This city is more like
the totality of civilization as it has evolved… and movement to and from the
surrounding society…“

25. Why Humboldt KOSMOS University (HKU)?
Kosmos is the German word for Cosmos. A.v.Humboldt’s
œuvre had the complete title “Kosmos – Entwurf einer
physischen Weltbeschreibung” (“Cosmos – the attempt
of a physical description of the world”).
Alexander v. Humboldt as a symbolic figure
• He and his brother Wilhelm took major
Influence on the European university
education system
• He was a real universal and international
scientist mastering a multitude of disciplines
and offering a „grand view“ of the world
• He combined on-spot empirical research with systematic
scientific classifications and anaylysing relations cross disiplines
• He fostered to move South and Middle America in emancipated
self recognition and to become interested in modern science
• He used Tenerife as his base and training camp on his first
four years‘ research excursion
• He started at the age of 57 to compile his life œvre during
> 30 years, i.e. was performing main science work in elder age

26. How America, just having been discovered as the 4th continent, got its name
Duke René of Lorraine, well
connected to Portuguese Humboldt Zoom into
knew about
nobles, founded in 1505
and asked
the „Waldsee-
the „Gymnasium“of St. Dié
for re-dis- müller Map“
covering the of 1507
map of 1507
Waldseemüller
in 1507printed
Vespucci … ab Americo [Vespucci]
Martin Inventore ...quasi Americi
wrote
Waldseeemüller terram sive Americam (from
letter
went to St. Dié Amerigo [Vespucci] the
to
René discoverer ...as if it were the
de Lorraine land of Americus, thus America

27. Coffee Houses as think tanks serve as incubators
The Vienna Coffee House
has aleways been a true stem cell
for creating new
ideas, concepts, poems, literature, po
litical declarations, etc …
It is an incubator within an
ethnic and cultural melting pot.
Amongst those having created
key œvres in Vienna Coffee
Houses, some even changing the
world, were persons such as
• Theodor Herzl
• Leo Trotzki
• Wladimir Iljitsch Lenin
• Adolf Hitler
• Josif Stalin
• Oskar Kokoschka
• Robert Musil …

28. Incubation e.g. for inventing the City of Tomorrow
goes with creativty, bohemian attitudes, critical discourse, …

30. HKM Workshop Program 22. Nov. - 30. Nov. 2012
All 8 workshops start at their 1st day at 9:30 in Hotel MARITIM
Nov. 22nd:
•Leo Hemetsberger & Rosa Roedelius, Austria: Philosophy & Arts (in German)
•Claus Nagel & Simon Dückert: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Camp (in English)
Nov. 23rd: (on 23rd, individuals may take part in a visit of the astrophysical telescope)
•José-Maria Viedma, Barcelona: Transformation of Tenerife in a knowledge economy. (in Spanish)
•Javier Carrillo, Mexico: “The current crisis as an opportunity challenging the predominant mindsets and
economic systems" (in English)
•Paul Iske, The Netherlands: Evening event (20:00): A public TED-style presentation on Innovation (Engl.)
 Nov. 24th:
•Paul Iske, The Netherlands: “Innovation Management” (in English)
 Nov. 27th:
•Franz Reither, Germany: “Bottom-up” – Concepts of development for the future of Tenerife: Structures
for practical implementation“ (in German)
•Afternoon (16:00) Visit of Palmetum, Sta. Cruz
 Nov. 28th:
•Winfried Blum Austria: "Soils, Society and Global Change - what does this mean for the future land use
on Tenerife". (in Spanish, slides in English)