Prof. Benno Werlen, chair of the IGU commission on global understanding and the German National Committee, was recently appointed as Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), whose members are mandated by the Academy’s founders to explore “the social consequences and policy implications of knowledge.” Under the motto “Leadership in thought that leads to action,” the Academy brings together scholars and artists from all fields to address global challenges and “serve the common good of all humanity.”
The Academy has emerged as an important voice of transdisciplinary, socially responsible research. Among others, WAAS consults UNESCO and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The founding members included scholars like Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, or Bertrand Russell.
For Prof. Werlen “this appointment allows a closer cooperation with UN Organizations in the fields of education and research, as well as strengthening the awareness for the need of geographical perspectives for the big challenges of the present”
