On December 15th, 2022, the Annual General Assembly of the Romanian Association for the Club of Rome took place.
The special guest at this meeting was Mr. Laszlo Borbely, State Advisor, Coordinator of the Department for Sustainable Development within the Government of Romania.
In the presentation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, Mr. Borbely presented the main sustainable development goals (ODG/SDG) that are crucial for the transition to a sustainable economy. The action plan approved in June 2022 establishes 4 priority directions and 12 specific objectives and is addressed to the decision-makers involved in the development of public policies for the implementation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development.
Mr. Borbely presented the progress achieved in terms of the development of the institutional framework and the tools for the implementation of the Strategy. A noteworthy one is that the profession of Expert in Sustainable Development was introduced within the Classification of occupations in Romania. This is a unique profession in the European Union. So far, 160 people have been certified in this occupation and their number will reach, in 2026, around 2000, the vast majority at local level. Through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, centers of excellence will be established in each region, which, together with a one-stop-shop platform, will support the implementation of sustainable development strategy at the local public administration level.
During the meeting, a tribute was paid to the first Romanian member of the Club of Rome, academician Mircea Malița. Just like „The limits to growth”, the report written by Mircea Malița entitled „No limits to learning” proves to be as relevant today as when it was written in 1979. Mr. Dan Dungaciu, director of the „Ion I. C. Brătianu” Institute of Political Sciences and International Relations of the Romanian Academy, presented the recently published volume „Between War and Peace”, a re-edition of the diplomatic and international relations works of the author Mircea Malița. The volume represents the first in the series of reprints of the diplomatic and international relations works of the renowned academician, diplomat and professor Mircea Malița.
The meeting included an anniversary album dedicated to the General Assembly of the Club of Rome and the International Conference entitled „The Power of the Mind”, held in Bucharest in 2012, on the occasion of the 40thanniversary of the first report of the Club of Rome , “The Limits to Growth”. The event brought together 150 participants from more than 30 countries: scientists, economists, businesspersons, former heads of state, civil servants. Among them were two of the authors of the report: Dennis Meadows and Jorgen Randers and Roberto Peccei, sun of the founder Aurelio Peccei. The album captures both through photos and through messages and statements, the most important moments of the meeting hosted in Bucharest.