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the future for Germany and Europe – looking ahead

… an invitation to our non-political table:

Please, take a virtual seat…

Momentarily, our politicians are discussing topics that will be setting the trends for the future of Germany.

(Disclaimer: We never were and are not members of any political party.)

The current news coverage is prompting us to voice our opinion as scientists, since there are certain topics that are not forward-looking but rather backwards oriented, leading into the last century. Some topics are addressed too timidly and some topics are not addressed at all.

These are the topics we are considering as highly relevant. Unfortunately, due to the backwards oriented ones Germany has lost the contact to many relevant topics: Now, it is imperative to open opportunities to bring forward a Europe that not only can persist, but to offer the member states and their population a future worth living, as well as the ability to become competitive on the world market with Europe’s strengths and thus to lead in the global economy.

Generally, and this does apply for all European countries, we shall not think nationally, but towards a unified Europe that is capable to compete with economic powers such as the U.S., China, Japan a.s.o.

The following topics need to be addressed for a worth living and strong future:

E-mobility needs to be further developed and made more fashionable. Therefore, the network needs to be developed further in order to provide the same opportunities as for old-fashioned combustion engines – longer-lasting, stronger, longer-ranged, failure-free and safe. Old automobiles with their combustion engines are harming the environment and thus don’t have a future. It does not make sense to support combustion engines with sales bonuses (note due to the later publishing date of the translation: As of today, the German government actually has denounced the latter one, fortunately). One other alternative would be the use of hydrogen technology. It is necessary to break old economic old boys networks.

Pandemics will haunt us more often in the future, as well as natural disasters; in a scale we cannot foresee and imagine. Nature has the last word, always. If we like it or not, we will be forced to respect nature and to adjust to the globally shifting ecosystem. Should we treat our planet as we have done so in the past, there won’t be a future for mankind on Earth. We are on a path to destroy our civilization, and thus ourselves.

Not just the scientists, but also the inventors, need to be supported and promoted better and constantly as not to fail due to a financing gap. The best inventions need support, or they will never see the light of day. We desperately need new developments in the relevant topics of the future to secure our civilization’s wellbeing.

One of these developments are broadly acting antiviral molecules provided by SAJO and further drugs of the next generation medication.

Upcoming challenges need to be addressed in an interdisciplinary way. Truly helpful advice is rarely given by committees and invited people, but rather by outsiders. People, who are thinking outside the box, those who have a broader view, who have imagination and current up-to-date knowledge, and who are capable of transferring this know-how to present situations to suggest plans of taking actions. Part of this includes creativity, and, after all the ability to communicate.

In January 2020 we have transferred our know-how of infection protection to the current situation of an acute pandemic (see our posts starting in February 2020) in a way that both politicians and the public were able to understand and to take action. Thus, we all avoided a worse outcome of this pandemic in Germany. This cooperation between us, the politicians, the media and the public did work very well, we were lucky, and we had the right timing – up to now. We shall see how the pandemic is developing in Germany; this is depending on individual behavior. Our preparedness for future pandemics is depending on the hands of those who decide on the promotion of the necessary topics.

Environmental sins, such as the lignite mining in North Rhine-Westphalia, are inacceptable, since we shall get their bill with delay, by ways of natural disasters and other consequences of climate change. All these consequences have been forecasted in plain language since the 1970’s by scientists. We have learned about this in our school years. Is this topic still been taught today? How do intercontinental travels for vacation fit into this?

Educational topics need to be modernized, adjusted, and offered to our children in a proper way. Schools need to offer up-to-date topics. This has been missed, our students are left in the dark: Employment centers still recommend jobs to high school graduates that have been dismantled years ago or will not have a future at all. There is a lack of national adjustment to international development. Please, ask people who spent years abroad. We lived in the U.S. for five years (2000 – 2005), performing science on infectious diseases (with focus on HIV) at an elite program of the NIH, working with and meeting the best virologists and scientists internationally. With such a chance you are capable to develop other points of view.

This leads us to another important point, which is the decisions on how to staff leading positions in politics and economy. Obviously, the current incumbents have brought us this far. On the one hand, we do have a great economic growth, on the other hand, this growth comes at a cost when looking at employees, the number of jobs available, the lack of inventions (as seen with automobiles) and foremost the ecologic costs (epitomized by the catastrophic European agricultural politics). In the end, there is a loss of economic values in companies that would otherwise allow for future developments and orientation. Germany is not capable to accept female leadership (with one singular – and limited – prominent exception). The OLD INDUSTRY is dominated by males. There is no equal opportunity. This has to change! The old ranks in the German economy are interchangeable on all levels. This is not leading to innovation. We are in desperate need of a fresh spirit here.

A broad development of the IT-system is more than necessary, in a way that patentable inventions can not be stolen. The infrastructure needs to be able to protect inventions from economic espionage. After all, we are in competition with economic powers outside of the EU. Some developments and chains of economic values need to be concentrated within Europe. One positive outcome would be a growth of job opportunities and consequently of taxes.

The social system needs to be adjusted in a way to secure a life for everyone. If politics is supporting NEW industry sectors that will provide income through novel and competitive business models later, this might well be possible.

The new industry sector and its companies should offer training possibilities and re-education to allow qualified employees with their positive work ethics to transfer to new jobs. Learning by doing, and where’s a will, there’s a way.

The lack of qualified personnel may be alleviated through an adjustment of immigration laws. This would give people a chance, who want to come to Europe and who want to be part of it, to integrate. Maybe, later, pending on political and societal circumstances in the countries they came from, this might even lead to an expansion of business to the countries the immigrants came from originally. It is just plain outrageous to keep people away, who want to live and work here. Such politics will lead to disappointment, anger, and opposition – normal human reactions, that will be harmful and disadvantageous in the end.

For Europe it is important to expand security measures to prevent terrorist structures. Once such structures are established, they are difficult to be fought against. Prevention is key – without an Orwellian surveillance. Individual data protection of every single European needs to be ensured.

It will be a first choice to enable education for everyone to ensure a normal and value-centered life; this would prevent hidden movements and give people the opportunity for a career and/or advancement.

There will be wars globally, be they civil wars based on a lack of leadership as seen now in the U.S. and Brazil. There will be wars about resources, such as water, soil and food, another central topic is IT security. This is the area politics needs to be involved. Fecund soil is a miracle word, to grow your own food. Oppression is the wrong way. The key to peace is the possibility to live a life in satisfaction. It is time, politicians around the world are true to their words. Politics are lacking successful implementation. Successful politics: To give people the chance to find satisfaction by securing their basic needs. 

Most important topics include climate, water, assurance of food. Every region in the world will be confronted by these at some point. We have to take action at the problems’ source. We don’t want to imagine how it will be if the permafrost is defrosted and gases bound will be set free in shortest time. Once the Oceans are no longer capable to bind atmospheric gas due to their saturation, catastrophes will be catalyzed more and more in a way we are not able to imagine currently. Our imagination is not sufficient to understand the complexity. The whole world is in this together, currently without proper leadership, and is drowning slowly and steadily.

Our closing remarks are dedicated to the next generations, our children, who have to be educated to give them the intellectual power to solve the upcoming questions and problems. Without knowledge and proper education, they will fail.

Inventors need to be encouraged and promoted starting at childhood, since they might not be at hand otherwise at a later timepoint. A culture for inventors and proper schools and high schools is needed, so that individual children, who are talented and interested, have the chance of successful development.

Mobbing, discrimination and standardization based on the average person destroys such talented children – unless they are blessed with a high resilience. Acceptance is the magic word!

Talents are obvious at a certain point during the development of children. At this time, talents must be supported and promoted, with a lot of diligence and discipline, enthusiasm and fun.

This is where intellectuals and scientists are asked to further develop these points and to make people understand the future scenarios. (There is one limitation of modelling: Model programs are just as good as their programming, and the parameters they are fed with; we will never be able to include all parameters). This implies that the future based on the current conditions will be gloomier than we are able to imagine.

Of course: Planet Earth will keep on turning – with or without human civilization. This we have in our own hands. TODAY!

Please keep joining us at our round table discussion and help us shape our new world, to keep Europe a place to live in!

Yours,

Sabine and Joerg

Meet Sabine at XING: https://www.xing.com/profile/Sabine_Breun

Visit Joerg at LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/jörg-baumann-phd-0710b11a3