TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT SUMMIT - Unido

92 International Practice in Technology Foresight
The main role of the Hungarian Government is to tackle all the problems
inherited. We would like to emphasize that as Hungarian industry is embedded
into the European Union, the economies of the European Union because
of FDI, the next steps should be taken in rural areas or those branches of
industry where FDI and the process has been a little bit behind all the others.
Accession will help the strategic thinking of government, governmental
agencies and partnerships between governmental agencies and the representatives
of industry. The main goal is to try to achieve a new type of equilibrium,
to introduce a new type of balance between the rate of growth and
sustainability and identify new vehicles of growth in the country. The new
vehicles are driven by the knowledge-intensive industries introducing new
requirements for even civil servants and politicians. Civil servants’ rigidity
should be replaced by reform, reform-orientation, flexibility and partnership.
These are the values of Europe. These are the values that we are able to build
on as a common basis with our partners beyond the borders, but in Hungary,
as well. We should give a new impetus to a reform-oriented Europe. Hungary
has had a tradition in recent years of gradually being able to develop industrial
policy, social policy based on partnership and reform.
The mission of the Summit, a very important component for regional
initiatives on technological foresight for Central and Eastern European countries,
launched by UNIDO, was that a mid- and long-term development vision
should have an influence on governments, on universities and on technical
schools, but on the business sector as well, because the relevant national
and regional decision-making stakeholders have a common responsibility.
I am convinced that economic growth of our countries can be envisaged
only within a framework of close cooperation. That is why this technology
foresight summit is not only an event but can contribute effectively to the
cooperation if it is perhaps continued on the same basis. So that is why the
Government of Hungary is ready to host this important flagship of this event
of UNIDO for the next years, if contributions of people will also give impetus
to a common and better future of ourselves.
I would like to propose that the next years should take into consideration
the question of environmental protection and industrial development
because in a broader sense, environmental protection is a little bit more than
protecting the natural environment what we have inherited. This involves
social questions, healthcare questions as well and for technological foresight
this could be one of the most important issues.
Michal Kleiber
Minister of Science, Chairman of the State Committee for Scientific
Research, Republic of Poland
We need a strategy to meet the objectives of the Lisbon Declaration. We need
a strategy to meet the social expectations in each country in the years to
come. Rational foresighting in research and development is a key part of such