More than 180 students from several schools participated in the Our World 2021 conference, part of a lecture series organized by students in the Economics, Leadership & Governance program. “The idea behind the conference isn’t just to talk about different topics, but to conduct a prospective analysis of where those issues will be heading in the next five years,” explained María Chiva, a Third Year student who helped co-organize the event.

Some of the topics discussed included China’s role as a world power, freedom of religion in the Muslim world, the conflict in Syria, and how technology has changed, is changing and will continue to change the fabric of our lives.

Eugenio Bergolat, a three-time ambassador to China, gave a lecture on how the growing Asian power will take on new leadership roles. He also identified a few of China’s weak points. Professor Raad Salam Naam, an Iraqi Christian and professor at the Eastern Biblical Institute, discussed the Syrian conflict and its religious underpinnings. El Español journalist Pablo Romero and digital transformation specialist Alejandro Villalón spoke about technology. Journalist and terrorism expert Javier Lesaca and Lieutenant Colonel Manuel González discussed world terrorism.

Ignacio Ferrero, Dean of the School of Economics and Business Administration, and Tomás Gómez-Acebo, Vice President of Students, gave the welcome address to the Our World 2021 Conference, which is also a subject worth one ECTS credit taken by the student organizers. “The whole class helped organize the conference. Every year we work on a project together. The first year, it was a social project, which was followed by an online magazine. Our idea this year was to organize a conference,” María said.

Free on Pamplona Campus

Nearly 200 students attended the conference, which was held in the Amigos Building. “To get speakers, we did a lot of networking — my dad has a friend of a friend, things like that. And we’re very happy with the results!”, said María.

“We decided to hold the conference in Pamplona because students are our target audience. It’s a conference organized by students for students”, María explained. “That’s why it’s in Pamplona instead of Madrid or somewhere else, and that’s why it’s free”.