Innovation, Sustainability, Development - A New Manifesto

Last year 3TU.Ethics hosted a round table (see here) as part of a preparation process leading up to ’Innovation, Sustainability, Development - A New Manifesto‘. This Tuesday, June 15th 2010, the manifesto was finally launched during a big event at the Royal Society in London.

The New Manifesto was published 40 years after an apparently radical document called ‘The Sussex Manifesto’ appeared in 1970. Reading that document now, one can hardly imagine that it was perceived as radical at the time and that the UN rejected it. But during the launch several people attested to it that, being a young student at that time in fields like development studies, they where greatly inspired by this Sussex Manifesto. It changed their view on the topic and possibly also their careers. The day after the launch I heard Geoff Oldham, one of the co-authors of the original manifesto, say that this was possibly the biggest surprise to him of the launch. He did not know that back then it had made such an impact on so many young people. I hope that the New Manifesto will likewise be discussed in universities worldwide and inspire a new generation of people able to change the world. I know I am personally greatly inspired by this New Manifesto. Not just by the text of the New Manifesto, but also by the inclusive and comprehensive way this project has been conducted by the STEPS center, who took this initiative. Not only did the STEPS Center commission round tables worldwide to prepare for the New Manifesto, giving a voice to people around the world, they also provide a wealth of round table outputs and other background materials on anewmanifesto.org as an input for further debate.

Ely, convenor of the New Manifesto project, during the launch at the Royal Society in London

As for the link with 3TU.Ethics: Why did we contribute to this project by organizing a round table? After all, 3TU.Ethics is not specialized in questions of poverty reduction, development and global justice, although some of our projects have recently started to address them explicitly (see for example here). Instead of answering right away, let me put the question differently, as somebody also did during the launch: Is this really a manifesto about development, or does it apply just as much to the western world? I think the last and more people present at the launch had that feeling. Another person expressed his fear that this would turn out as another attempt to tell the South what is best for them, unless we also use the New Manifesto to critically scrutinize the way we in the North are dealing with innovation. The New Manifesto makes a plea for 3D’s in our dealing with innovation:

• Directionality – towards specific sustainability objectives
• Distribution – equitable distribution of costs, risks and benefits
• Diversity – in socio-technological systems

It seems to me that there are many ways in which this ties in with the vision of 3TU.Ethics. For example, moral values should play a large role in our deliberations of what direction innovation should take, at 3TU.Ethics this is being investigated under the umbrella of ‘ethical parallel research’ and ‘value sensitive design’. And risks of new technologies and the distribution thereof is one of the topics on the research agenda of 3TU.Ethics. I would thus say that we are, in our own way, already contributing to realizing the vision expressed by this New Manifesto. But I hope to learn more in the future of how other initiatives link (or disagree with) to this New Manifesto. Surely there is a diversity of ways of doing so.

Please visit anewmanifesto.org and see for yourself!