"This year's conference, ‘It's About People’, will be held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, who will also officially open the event. The  highest calibre scientists and academics , especially from Austria and the rest of Europe, and the USA, have been announced. The conference will confront modern scientific knowledge and political views regarding social and technological development for safety and dignity. Thus, through a dialogue of different opinions from all over the world, we will call for overcoming modern contradictions between academic knowledge, disciplines, cultures, and countries, according to the principles of Alma Mater Europaea – transnationality, interdisciplinarity, and by building bridges," said the President of Alma Mater Europaea – ECM Professor Ludvik Toplak.

Alma Mater will host European scholars and thought leaders from various disciplines at the upcoming conference. Jeffrey Sachs, Professor at Columbia University and world-renowned economist, author, and global leader in sustainable development, will give a keynote speech. Among the other speakers will be Klaus Mainzer, President of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, President of the Scientific Committee of the It's About People Conference; Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth; Sonia Ehrlich Sachs, a researcher at Columbia University and director of the One Million CHW campaign; Felix Unger, Honorary President of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts; Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford; Fred R. Volkmar, professor at Yale University; Jeremy Howick, Professor of Empathic Healthcare at the University of Leicester and Research Councillor at the University of Oxford, and other European leaders of science and art and scientists.

"In Europe and the rest of the world, trust in democracy, elections, and the legal system is falling, and that will be the focus of three conference panels. Electoral law experts from twelve European countries, including a German judge at the European Court of Human Rights, Anja Seibert-Fohr, will analyze how courts in Europe respond to election violations and how to strengthen the integrity of elections", said Professor Jurij Toplak, President of the Organizing Committee of the  It's  About People conference.

"This year, the ‘It's About  People’ conference includes more than 80 content sections. Over 300 authors from more than 30 countries will present their contributions. Among them are academics from the world's most prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and Columbia. They will talk about the challenges, opportunities, and solutions in social and technological development for safety and dignity", says the Vice-President of the Organizing Committee Conference, Luka Martin Tomažič.

The conference will have a multilateral character. "We want to present the world's scientific findings directly to domestic educators, scientists, and students, confront domestic scientific knowledge with global trends, and especially draw attention to the humanistic aspect that social and technological changes will be in the service of human safety and dignity," adds Professor Ludvik Toplak.

"Students actively participate in the conference. Doctoral students present their research, and master's students prepare and publish reviews. Undergraduate students write summaries of their papers," reports Professor Sebastjan Kristovič, coordinator of the study process at Alma Mater. 

During the events accompanying the 11th International Conference, It's About People, Alma Mater Europaea will pay special attention to scientists who, through their socially responsible work, have made a unique contribution to the development of science and human relations between people in the world, and have made an outstanding contribution to the development of Alma Mater in the past fifteen years.

At a special ceremony, which will take place on March 10, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. in the Knights' Hall of the Maribor Regional Museum, we will award several honorary doctorates:

• Jeffrey David Sachs, one of the leading economists of the 20th and 21st centuries, receives the title of honorary doctor for his outstanding contribution to the development of economic science and sustainable development in a global perspective and for his contribution to the development of the socio-economic transition  of the Republic of Slovenia;

• Sonia Ehrlich Sachs receives the title of honorary doctor for her outstanding contribution to the field of public health, to strengthening humanitarian relations, and to the sustainable development of paediatrics and public health;

• the Honorary President of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Professor Felix Unger, receives the title of honorary doctor for his outstanding achievements in the field of medicine and humanism, and for his academic and organizational contribution to the development of Alma Mater Europaea – European Center, Maribor.

More about the 11th International Scientific Conference ‘It's About People: Social and Technological Development in Service of Security and Dignity’ HERE.