As part of the BMW Foundations International Lectures series, Dimitrij Rupel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, spoke on the themes and challenges of the Slovenian EU Council presidency at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich.

Upon the initiative of the Federal President, a series of three discussions on “Forms of Modernity – Views of Modernity” is organized in cooperation between the Office of the Federal President, the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, and the Event Forum of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Group.

With its “BMW Foundation Initiative on Changing Behavior and Belief,“ the BMW Foundation puts a focus on the topic of “Global Value Change.” All over the world, economic, political and social structures are undergoing changes as a result of industrialization and globalization. This has consequences also for human values and attitudes, e.g. how people want to be governed, how they work, how they organize their family and social lives, which technologies they use.

The Forum is addressed to young leaders, usually between the age of 30 and 40, who already hold positions of leadership and who – to quote our mission statement – “in their professional and personal lives, take into consideration the greater common good.”

"The future of the WTO is at risk unless decisive steps are taken for its modernization,“ says Heribert Dieter of the German Institute for International and Security Studies (SWP) in a conversation with the BMW Foundation on the future of international trade policy, the failure of the Doha Round and the future of transatlantic relations.

In its seventh year, the Munich Economic Summit once again brought together high-ranking representatives of European business, academia, politics and media. Entitled “Europe in the Global Competition for Talents,“ the conference was attended by a total of 140 participants from 21 countries of the EU and beyond. A detailed conference report highlights the Summit’s presentations and discussions.

In his launching statement, Frank Trümper, managing director of the non-profit organization Common Purpose Deutschland, offers important food for thought, e.g. why it is not enough for leaders to look only in one direction and the importance of coming to terms with the major issues facing our society.