| Letter from the Editor |
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bridges vol. 19 / October 2008 Dear Reader, "May you live in interesting times" is an ancient Chinese proverb that sounds like a blessing but is actually meant as a curse. Whether we are now blessed or cursed, we definitely live in interesting times. Financial markets are in disarray in never before experienced global dimensions; the US is holding crucial presidential elections in less than a month; and pressing matters of global importance like energy supply and climate change, which tend to be overlooked easily in interesting times like these, need to be addressed urgently. To find solutions for such complex challenges requires thinking outside the box, innovative ideas, and daring to envision the future in completely different ways. In this issue of bridges we want to provide some insight on how people from the S&T community - both scientists and policy makers - deal with the big challenges of our time, what their recommendations are, and how they tackle them. Christoph Koettl, an Austrian political scientist who is affiliated with Amnesty International USA, argues in his article "When Science Meets Human Rights: Innovative Uses of Geospatial Technologies for Human Rights Monitoring and Conflict Prevention " how a cooperation between Amnesty International and the American Association for the Advancement of Science led to innovative and very effective new approaches in documenting human rights violations in the worlds' crises regions, such as South Ossetia and Darfur. Access to the full article is free, but requires you to register. Registration is simple and quick – all we need is your name and a valid e-mail address. We appreciate your interest in bridges. |
