Professor Jeffrey Sachs has stated that, since today's population is four times larger than in the last century, the average economic activity per person is also much higher. This is why our planet is heavily burdened. We are also much richer than we were a hundred years ago. However, our lives are still not better: the Food and Agriculture Organization, for example, has stated that about three billion people on the planet cannot afford a healthy diet, but our society does not care; it does not matter if billions of children cannot afford food or education. Today's world is certainly more prosperous than a hundred years ago. However, human needs are not a priority: We need a new economic paradigm.

Sachs is the winner of the Tang Award for Sustainable Development (2022) and the prestigious Blue Planet Award of the Year (2015). Time magazine has twice included him among the 100 most influential world leaders. Sachs received 41 honorary doctorates, the Legion of Honor by decree of the President of the Republic of France, and the Order of the Cross by the President of Estonia. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including three New York Times bestsellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011). 

He will appear as a keynote speaker at the 11th Annual Conference of Europe’s Sciences and Arts Leaders and Scholars ‘It's about people': Social and Technological Development in Service of Security and Dignity on March 10, 2023, at 9.30 am (CET).