Is Prosperity without Growth Possible?

Explore pathways to solutions with Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

Join us for a compelling dialogue featuring Professor Olivier De Schutter alongside Sybille Mertens, a noted social economy expert from the University of Liège. Together, they will address the pressing challenge of enhancing well-being and alleviating poverty within the finite limits of our planet's resources.

Olivier De Schutter, inspired by his recent book, The Poverty of Growth, proposes innovative strategies to rethink development. He advocates for a shift from traditional economic growth models to a focus on rebuilding the “commons” through collaborative efforts involving government, civil society, and eco-entrepreneurs. These partnerships are designed to catalyze social innovations that foster sustainable and equitable development.

speaker

Olivier De Schutter is a professor at UCLouvain and at Sciences Po. He was the UN Special Rapporteur on Food Security between 2008 and 2014 and a member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights between 2015 and 2020. Since 2020, he has been the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty. He has been actively involved in the ecological transition and promoted the cause of agroecology as the UN Special Rapporteur on Food Security. He is currently working to reconcile ecological transformation and social justice. His most recent book deals with the role of social innovations in the ecological and socially fair transition.

moderator

Sybille Mertens is an Associate Professor at HEC-Management School, University of Liege, where she holds the Cera Chair in Social Entrepreneurship. Her research focuses on various aspects of social entrepreneurship and the management of the social economy, including funding mechanisms for social enterprises, economic theories related to the social economy, and statistical analysis within this domain. She earned her PhD in Economics from the University of Liege in 2002 under the supervision of Professor Jacques Defourny, with a thesis titled “Towards a satellite account of non-profit institutions in Belgium,” which received the highest distinction. During her academic journey, she was recognized with the ARCO award for scientific research in the social and non-market economy (1999-2002).