Jeremy Rifkin
Jeremy Rifkin is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and the author of seventeen best-selling books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages and are used in hundreds of universities, corporations and government agencies around the world. His most recent books include The Hydrogen Economy, The European Dream, The End of Work, The Age of Access, and The Biotech Century.
Jeremy Rifkin serves as an advisor to the European Union on issues related to the economy, climate change, energy security, and sustainable development. He is currently advising the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša, during his presidency of the European Union (January to July 2008). Mr. Rifkin served as an advisor to the Federal Republic of Germany during Chancellor Angela Merkel’s presidency of the European Union (January to July 2007). Mr. Rifkin also served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Socrates, during his presidency of the European Union (July to December 2007). Mr. Rifkin currently serves as an advisor to the European Commission, the European Parliament, and several EU heads of state, including President Jose Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain and Prime Minister Romano Prodi of Italy.
Mr. Rifkin’s Sustainable Development Team advises governments and global corporations on the latest in cutting-edge technologies and best practices designed to address the twin challenges of climate change and energy security. The global sustainability team recently contracted with The Conference Board, the world’s preeminent association of global companies, to conduct a series of immersion learning programs on sustainability for managers. The two-day intensive executive education seminars are designed to introduce senior executives to the vast commercial opportunities in the emerging field of sustainable development.
Rifkin has been influential in shaping public policy in the United States and around the world. He has testified before numerous congressional committees and has had consistent success in litigation to ensure responsible government policies on a variety of environmental, scientific and technology related issues. He has been a frequent guest on numerous television programs, including Face the Nation, The Lehrer News Hour, 20/20, Larry King Live, Today, and Good Morning America. The National Journal named Rifkin as one of 150 people in the U.S. that have the most influence in shaping federal government policy.
Mr. Rifkin has been a fellow at the Wharton School's Executive Education Program since 1994, where he lectures to CEOs and senior corporate management from around the world on new trends in science and technology and their impacts on the global economy, society and the environment.
Mr. Rifkin's monthly column on global issues appears in many of the world's leading newspapers and magazines, including The Los Angeles Times in the United States The Guardian in the U.K., Die Süddeutsche Zeitung and Handelsblatt in Germany, Le Soir and Knack in Belgium, L'Espresso in Italy, El País in Spain, Informatíon in Denmark, De Volkskrant in the Netherlands, Hospodárské Noviny in the Czech Republic, Wort in Luxembourg, Eesti Päevaleht in Estonia, Trud in Bulgaria, Clarín in Argentina, and Al-Ittihad in the U.A.E.
Mr. Rifkin holds a degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Rifkin speaks frequently before government, business, labor and civic forums. He has lectured at hundreds of the world’s leading corporations as well as more than 200 universities in some 30 countries in the past 30 years.
Mr. Rifkin is the founder and president of The Foundation on Economic Trends (www.foet.org) in Washington, DC. The Foundation examines the economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts of new technologies introduced into the global economy.
Lecture Topics:
* The Third Industrial Revolution: Leading the way to a green energy era and a hydrogen economy
* The Global Environmental Crisis: The path to sustainable development
* The European Dream: How Europe's vision of the future is changing the global economy
* The Age of Access: Understanding the historic shift in economic models, from traditional capitalist markets to emerging global commercial networks
* The Future of Work: Rethinking the nature of employment in an increasingly automated, borderless and highly mobile global economy
* The Hi-tech Revolutions of the 21st Century: Harnessing the scientific and technological fields of biotechnology, nanotechnology, advanced IT, and cognitive science in ways that advance the process of globalization
* Rethinking the Global Health Paradigm: Making the shift from managing disease to promoting wellness
* Living in a Three Sector World: Building new partnerships between the global business community, civil society, and governments to create a sustainable approach to globalization
* Deep Globalization: Deepening and expanding the global economy by bringing the remaining 60% of the human race into the 21st century marketplace
* Educating Youth for a Global Era: Introducing service learning and experiential education into schools and colleges to prepare youth for working and living in a diverse, multicultural world
* Immigration in a Globally Connected World: Addressing the challenges of migration in an era of cultural diasporas
* Beyond the Nation State: Examining the future prospects of transnational political spaces in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa
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