Publications
Organizing valuable events is one thing but leaving a tangible and sustainable trace is another one. That is why every CROSSTALKS theme is covered in a publication with international impact.
"De wereld biedt genoeg voor ieders behoefte, maar niet voor ieders hebzucht." - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
“Wel varen zonder groei” is uitgebracht ter gelegenheid van het eerste Het Groene Boek op 29 mei in 2011. De bundeling teksten is een momentopname van een alsmaar groeiende beweging van onderzoekers, ondernemers en denkers die op een constructieve en pro-actieve manier vorm willen geven aan een duurzamere wereld. Sommige bijdragen spelen rechtstreeks in op het boek “Welvaart zonder groei” van Tim Jackson. Andere staan er los van en presenteren reeds bestaande projecten en cases die ieder op hun eigen manier een oplossing proberen te bieden voor de complexe problemen van een door economische en materiële groei gedreven welvaartsstaat.
This 4th CROSSTALKS book documents 100 tangible local initiatives from all over the world that fit into a constructive and holistic movement for social and ecological change. Drawing from a pool of personally driven research and bottom-up projects, the book singles out 100 cases in different, yet interrelated domains. The selection itself was motivated by scientific researchers, architects, artists, political thinkers and entrepreneurs who try to make a positive difference in our quest for a future of prosperity, freedom and fun without undermining nature and humanity.
Each week, The Wall Street Journal Europe Future Leadership Institute highlights a management or leadership book in The Wall Street Journal Europe. And on October 14 to the 4th CROSSTALKS book We Can Change the Weather was chosen!
In 2005, right after the release of the first CROSSTALKS publication ‘How Open is the Future?’, CROSSTALKS started developing a project aiming at an open and interdisciplinary dialogue between all stakeholders in health care. Through a series of introductory workshops, we explored the future role, price setting, access to and added value of medicines. An accompanying committee was set up and a three-year project was defined, funded by unconditional grants from Astra Zeneca Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Pfizer, UCB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The project started officially in 2006 with a first congress and a series of thematic brainstorms and workshops to which all stakeholders were invited.
The first CROSSTALKS book “How open is the future? Economic, Social and Cultural Scenarios inspired by Free and Open-Source Software – VUB Brussels University Press - 2005” has now become the first volume of a series. We are proud to present you with a new, quite exceptional collection of articles bundled in this second CROSSTALKS publication. Some of the articles are loosely based, while others are directly based, on the discussions, insights and perspectives raised during the Brave New Interfaces workshop of 27 April 2006 in Brussels. The topic of exploring existing and future interfaces and their design emerged from numerous discussions on whether some spectacular technological innovations also meant or implied something more than just technological progress. Depending on the gender and the technological literacy of the conversationalists, the answer might be yes, no, or somewhere in between.
Ever since Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, received his Doctor Honoris Causa at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, CROSSTALKS started to explore the probing issue of “Free and Open Source Software” from an interdisciplinary and wide-angled perspective: an excellent starting point for its kick-off event. The results were published in the first CROSSTALKS book. How Open is the Future? (VUB Press), edited by the university’s Vice-rector Research Jan Cornelis and Marleen Wynants, Operational Director of CROSSTALKS. The look and feel of the book appeal to a multi-coloured public, as it offers a constructive and innovative look on the boundaries of intellectual property, as well as new and open forms of collaboration, not only situated in an academic and industrial context, but in musical and artistic spheres as well.
CROSSTALKS regularly publishes smaller publications and booklets at the occasion of a special event or to round up a series of workshops.