Keynote Address

Every year we present a well-known personality from science, society, economy, politics or sports as speaker at the SEPAWA® CONGRESS. Be it current topics or perennial favorites, it will certainly spark your interest.

Prof. Dr. Dirk Notz

The big melt

Thursday, 29 October 2020 from 13:15 – 14:15 hrs at Convention Hall I

Bitter cold, frozen oceans, gigantic glaciers: This prevailing image of the polar regions of our planet still captures the true look of these regions quite well. But possibly not for very much into the future: In the Arctic, sea ice on the Arctic Ocean disappears rapidly, temperatures rise two to three times as fast as the global average, and the glaciers slowly disappear.

In this presentation, I combine my own experiences from numerous expeditions into the polar regions with the scientific background of climate change. In doing so, we will explore climate change in the distant past, the rapid changes that we all experience today, and will examine how the future will possibly look like. And in doing so, we will be able to answer the overarching question of whether we can still stop the big melt…

Prof. Dr. Dirk Notz is a German climate researcher and a lead author of the next IPCC report on global climate change. He is head of the sea-ice research groups at the University of Hamburg and at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg. His research focuses on understanding the past and future evolution of the sea-ice cover in the polar regions of our planet.

For his research, he has led numerous expeditions in the Arctic.

He studied meteorology and physics in Seattle and Hamburg, and obtained a PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Cambridge. He is very engaged in public outreach activities, regularly advises policy makers, and has won several prizes for his clear communication of climate science.

Topics & Personalities

Keynote Address

Every year, SEPAWA® invites a renowned personality from the fields of science, society, business, politics or sports are invited to give a keynote lecture. In recent years, these were:

  • In 2019 Dr. Richard David Precht, author and publicist, talked about the topic “digital revolution and the future of how we work.”
  • 2018 Antonia Rados, foreign correspondent and journalist, held a lecture with the title: “Turmoil in the Middle East – Consequences for Europe.“
  • In 2017, Dr. Ulf Merbold took the delegates on a space flight with a critical view onto our blue planet Earth. Anyone who has ever had the privilege to see its beauty from space should make it their mission to preserve it.
  • 2016 Dr. Gregor Gysi gave an inspiring lecture on global consumption, its development and reduction and changes.
  • In the previous year, extreme mountaineer Thomas Huber was invited to talk about the „analogy between mountain and profession“.
  • In 2014 Prof. Dr. Gertrud Höhler, publicist and consultant, held a lecture titled „innovation starts with leadership“.
  • Brother Paulus, guardian of the Capuchin Convent „Liebfrauen“ in Frankfurt am Main was invited in 2013. In his lecture titled “Heart Detergent”, he explained how the Ten Commandments liberate the mind and pave the way for success.

 

Marketing Lecture

Within the framework of a marketing lecture, current issues of general interest were ompetently and realistically dealt with by internationally renowned experts. These can be for instance: motivation, innovation, diversity or the role of the internet in our society. In recent years, we had the privilege to welcome the following personalities:

  • In 2018 Gerriet Danz, expert on innovation and creativity, held a lecture with the title: “Utopia Creates Sales!Success – Beyond 8/15.”
  • Antoinette Anderegg not only illustrated impressively how our body language can be used for communication, but also what we unconsciously reveal about our feelings and intentions.
  • In 2016, blogger and internet expert Sascha Lobo, explored the topic surrounding the web and how it changes sour society. He focused especially on changes for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).
  • In the year prior to that, Business Coach Anne M. Schüller was our guest. In her lecture, the audience learnt step by step about loyality marketing can bring lasting success to a business.
  • In 2014, Prof. Dr. Jutta Rump of the Institute for Occupation and Employability IBE, Ludwigshafen, gave a talk on the following topic: „The younger generation in an ageing society: Generation Y versus Generation Baby Boomer?“.
  • Dr. Michael Bartl, Hyve AG in Munich, talked in 2013 about the change in innovation models in a digital age.

Impressions