The event, among the most prestigious of the world's scientific conferences, will host eminent scientists, scholars and thought leaders, who will exchange perspectives on a global level and encourage cooperation towards a sustainable and decent future. 

The conference will commence at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 8, in Slomškova dvorana, Maribor, Slovenia.

Professor Dr. Ludvik Toplak, president of Alma Mater Europaea – ECM, said: "The conference will be dedicated to academic research and technological progress for the needs of society in the context of valuing humanity, conserving natural resources, and considering demographic changes. Key aspects include intergenerational equality, the sustainable use of resources, and meeting development needs."

He added: "The task of science is to provide answers to new challenges, prevent threatening contradictions, and develop values and technologies in education that will ensure peace and well-being. It is about confronting civilizational, technological, and political reality with new intellectual views, value assessments, and the need for a renaissance."

The plenary session will be opened by Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography. Professor Dr Klaus Mainzer, President of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, will give a keynote speech.

Professor Dr Jurij Toplak, president of the Organizing Committee, said that the conference will feature the following speakers, among others. 

Richard James Overy, Professor at the University of Exeter, The Times editor of The Complete History of the World, Fellow of the Royal Historical Academy and British Academy, and recipient of the Wolfson History Prize and the Hessell-Tiltman Prize.

Andrew Sumner, Professor at King’s College London, Research Associate, University of Oxford, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Royal Society of Arts, Senior Fellow, United Nations University, President of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes, and member of Foreign Policy’s ‘Top 100 Global Thinkers’.

Borut Pahor, President of the Republic of Slovenia, 2012–22. 

Felix Unger, Honorary President, European Academy of Sciences and Arts. 

Luciana Duranti, Emeritus Professor at the University of British Columbia. 

Ioannis Liritzis, Dean of Natural Sciences at the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Distinguished Professor at Henan University and Alma Mater Europaea – ECM. 

Dany Bahar, Associate Professor at Brown University, Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University.

The conference program features more than 60 content sections. Dr Luka Martin Tomažič, Vice-President of the Organizing Committee, said, "There will be over 250 authors from more than 30 countries. Among them are academics from the most prominent universities, such as Harvard, Stanford, University College London, King's College London, the University of British Columbia, ETH Zurich, and others. They will present diverse academic perspectives, knowledge, and innovations. The conference is actively co-created by students, who will have invaluable opportunities to talk with leading scientists." 

At a special ceremony during the plenary session on March 8, at 12:15, Professor Dr Klaus Mainzer will be awarded an honorary doctorate for outstanding achievements in philosophy and science and essential academic and organizational contributions to the development of Alma Mater Europaea – ECM.

More about It's About People 2024: In Service of Sustainability and Dignity HERE.

Alma Mater Europaea – ECM is transforming itself into a university. For 15 years it has worked under the academic patronage of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts from Salzburg, the most representative academic institution in Europe, which brings together over 2,000 scientists and 37 Nobel laureates. 

Study for employable professions takes place in undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs in physiotherapy and health sciences, humanities, project management, archival science, artificial intelligence, sustainable development, business, strategic communication, social gerontology, and dance.