Forum Program

Baku Futures Forum

Next Big Things for the Future of Azerbaijan:
Implications for Action Today (Post-oil Economy)


03 of June, 2013
Hilton, BakuProgram

9:30 Registration (accompanied with coffee/tea welcoming)
10:00 Opening speeches:
Dr. Reyhan Huseynova, President, Azerbaijan Future Studies Society and Chair Millennium Project Azerbaijani Node

Keynote address:
Dr. Ali Abbasov, Minister of Communications and Information Technologies, Azerbaijan:
“Future information economy growing beyond oil dependency”
10:15 Welcoming speeches:
Dr. Elnur Aslanov, Chief of Department of Political Analysis and Information Provision of Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Dr. Huseyn Bagirov, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Azerbaijan
Dr. Jerome Glenn, CEO, The Millennium Project, USA
10:40 Selected speakers on the stage – short welcome address and speaker’s key points:
Dr. Sanja Vlahovic, Minister of Science, Montenegro
Dr. Eric Drexler, Professor at the Oxford University, leading futures and nanotechnologies researcher, USA
Dr. Amory Lovins, Chief Scientist and Chairman Emeritus of Rocky Mountain Institute, USA
Dr. Reil Miller, Head of Foresight, UNESCO

Masters of ceremony:
Mrs. Concepcion Olavarrieta (Mexico)
Dr. Geci Karuri-Sebina (South Africa)
10:55 Panel #1: Future of Energy and Energy efficiency for the next economy

Keynote address:
Dr. Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute:
"Reinventing Fire: The Business-Led Transition from Oil and Coal to Efficiency and Renewables"
11:35 Panel Discussion:
Dr. Paul Werbos, U.S. National Science Foundation, USA (via video connection)
Dr. Jose Cordeiro, MP Venezuela, Energy Faculty at Singularity University, NASA, California, USA
Dr. Rafiga Huseyn-zade, Vice-president on Ecology, SOCAR , Azerbaijan
Dr. Jamil Melikov, Vice-president of ABEMDA (Alternative energy agency), Sumgait Techno Park, Azerbaijan
12:05 Implications for action: audience discussion with the panel
Moderator: Dr. Geci Karuri-Sebina (South Africa)
12:10 Holographic Presentation:
Dr. Ufuk Tarhan, MGEN, President of All Futurists Association of Turkey
12:25 Coffee-break
12:35 Panel #2: Strategic Roles of the ICT for Post-oil Economy
Video presentation: Future of ICT
12:45 Panel Discussion:
Dr. Jerome Glenn, CEO, The Millennium Project
Dr. Sanja Vlahovic, Minister of Science, Montenegro
Dr. Asaf Hajiyev, member of the Azerbaijan Parliament:
“Oil, Gas or Information Technologies”
Dr. Amara Angelica, Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence (KurzweilAI),USA (via video connection)
Dr. Khagani Abdullayev, Deputy-Governor of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan
Dr. Frank Catanzaro, MP Cyber Node, USA (via video connection)
Dr. Rashad Nabiyev, Chairman of Azercosmos, Azerbaijan:
“Azerspace-1: The big step towards knowledge-based economy”.
13:15 Implications for action: audience discussion with the panel
Moderator Dr. Milan Marić, Montenegro
13:25 Lunch
Video on some of the Next Big Things, demonstrated during the lunch-time
14:25 Panel #3 Nanotechnology and the next economies

Keynote address:
Dr. Eric Drexler, Professor at the Oxford University, leading futures and nanotechnologies researcher, USA:
“A Future of Radical Abundance: Transforming the Material Basis of Civilization”
(How Nanotechnology can create the next economies)
14:50 Panel Discussion:
Dr. Dennis Bushnell (NASA) Chief Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, USA (via video connection)
Dr. Brock Hinzmann, Chair, MP Silicon Valley Node - Nanotech and 3D Printing, USA
Dr. Sahbazov Eldar , Head of SOCAR Nanotechnology Department, Azerbaijan
Dr. Elmira Ramazanova, Director of Scientific Research Institute on Geotechnical Problems of Oil, Gas and Chemistry, Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan State Oil Academy
15:20 Implications for action: audience discussion with the panel

Moderator: Dr. Nadezhda Gaponenko, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation
15:30 Panel #4: Synthetic Biology
Video of Craig Venter explaining the future of Synthetic Biology
15:40 Panel Discussion:
Dr. Jose Cordeiro - Example of Human Genome Sequence, USA
Dr. Urkhan Alekperov, Rector of the Academy of Public Administration, Azerbaijan
Dr. Yair Sharan, Tel Aviv University Israel: Synthetic biology, the Chance and the Risk
Dr. Sirkka Heinonen, Finland Futures Research Centre, Finland
Dr. Ralfrid Gasanov, Baku State University, Azerbaijan
16:00 Implications for action: audience discussion with the panel
Moderator: Dr. Ibon Zugasti (Spain)
16:10 Coffee-break
16:15 Discussion within groups:

1. Nanotechnology Moderators: Dr. Gunter Clar (Germany) and Dr. Nadezhda Gaponenko (Russia)
Reporters: Dr. Brock Hinzmann (USA) and Dr. Mohsen Bahrami (Iran)

2. ICT Moderators: Dr. Milan Marić, Montenegro and Dr. Concepcion Olavarrieta, Mexico
Reporters: Dr. Geci Karuri-Sebina (South Africa) and Dr. Piotr Jutkiewicz (Poland)

3. Energy efficiency Moderators: Dr. Hector Casaneva (Chile), and Dr. Ibon Zugasti (Spain)
Reporters: Dr. Elizabeth Florescu (Canada), and
Dr. Pavel Novacek (Czech Republic)

4. Synthetic biology Moderators: Dr. Jose Cordeiro (Venezuela) and Dr. Cornelius Patscha (Germany)
Reporters: Dr. Rosa Alegria (Brazil),Dr. Jack Gottsman (USA), and
Dr. Kamal Sheer (Egypt)

5. Multi-structural cooperation Moderators: Dr. Riel Miller (UNESCO) and Katindi Sivi Njonjo (Kenya)
Reporters: Dr. Zhouying Jin (China) and Dr. Mohan Tikku (India)
17:15 Summary of implications for action from each group
17:45 Outcomes of the Pre-Conference Delphi
Dr. Theodore J. Gordon, Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, The Millennium Project, USA (via video connection)
Dr. Reyhan Huseynova, President of Azerbaijan Future Studies Society, Azerbaijan

Discussion with the audience
18:00 Open discussion on possible agreements for action to make the transition to the post-oil economy
Facilitator: Dr. Jerome Glenn (USA), Dr. Mohsan Bahrami (Iran), and Dr. Gunter Clar (Germany)
18:15 Closing remarks
Dr. Elmir Veli-zade ,Vice- Minister of Communications and Information Technologies, Azerbaijan
Dr. Farhad Mamedov, Head of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan
Dr. Jerome Glenn, CEO, The Millennium Project, USA
Dr. Reyhan Huseynova, President of Azerbaijan Future Studies Society, Azerbaijan
18:35 Press-Conference