Crisis researcher Aassve: "'Resilience' is an empty phrase without political commitment"

"At every turn, we receive advice on how we can become more 'resilient' as individuals," says crisis researcher Prof Arnstein Aassve. The expert from Bocconi University in Milan believes that striving for individual resistance to crises can have undesirable effects, such as the postponement of necessary reforms. "We need to strengthen the political and institutional systems in Europe so that they can better absorb crises and shocks." This week international experts discuss the topic of "Overcoming crises" at the Berlin Demography Days.

International crisis resilience expert Prof Arnstein Aassve criticises the increased misuse of the term "resilience" to push crisis management on individual people. "At every turn we get advice on how to become more 'resilient' as individuals. This is certainly useful. But resilience is not the task of individuals, but first and foremost of social and government institutions".

Aassve is Professor of Demography at Bocconi University in Milan. He manages the EU research project "FutuRes - Towards a Resilient Future of Europe". The project uses demographic and economic modelling to explore future scenarios for the coming decades.
Prof. Aassve explains that striving for crisis resilience can have undesirable effects, such as delaying necessary reforms. "We need to strengthen the political and institutional systems in Europe so that they can better absorb crises and shocks. And we need policy to be geared towards anticipating future crises. That is resilience. Everything else is an empty phrase".

International leaders from politics, society and science are coming together this week in Berlin as well as online at the “Berlin Demography Days”. From Tuesday to Thursday, 23-25 January 2024, they will discuss crisis resilience as a political task. What lessons can be learned from past crises and what preparation is possible and necessary for future crises? Over 50 international experts will discuss these questions. The panels are freely accessible online with prior registration.

Complete programme of the Berlin Demography Days: https://population-europe.eu/events/berlin-demography-days-berliner-demografie-tage/berlin-demography-days-2024-overcoming

Registration: https://survey.demogr.mpg.de/index.php/972861?lang=en

Interested individuals in Berlin and the surrounding area are also invited to the panel discussion "Escaping the crisis paradox together" on 23 January 2024, 6-8 pm (followed by a reception) at Futurium Berlin, featuring Hermann Gröhe (Member of the Bundestag and former Federal Minister of Health), Antje Draheim (State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health), Pearl Dykstra (University of Rotterdam, Scientific Advisor to the European Commission) and Georg Schütte (Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation). The event will be moderated by Andreas Edel (Executive Secretary of the European research network Population Europe). He will also be available to answer questions.

Please also note the online closing event with the well-known "climate writer" Maja Lunde and the journalist Shelly Kupferberg on 25 January 2024.

Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
weissenburger@demogr.mpg.de

Weitere Informationen:
https://population-europe.eu/events/berlin-demography-days-berliner-demografie-tage/berlin-demography-days-2024-overcoming