Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership – workshop objective
The Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership was held on Monday 16 May 2016 in Tokyo.
View the full workshop program here, Gerhard Fasol’s keynote lays out the objectives of the workshop in the present article.
Gerhard Fasol CEO, Eurotechnology Japan KK, Board Director, GMO Cloud KK. former faculty Cambridge University, and Trinity College, and Tokyo University
Gerhard Fasol
CEO, Eurotechnology Japan KK,
Board Director, GMO Cloud KK.
former faculty Cambridge University, and Trinity College, and Tokyo University
Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership: objectives
There are two immediate objectives for the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s Development and Leadership:
- empower women leaders with global leverage
- lets change mind sets
I am building the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum as global leadership platform honoring my great-grandfather, and the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s Development and Leadership is part if this initiative:
- drive innovation based on science and technology
- “there is no other forum for open discussions among leaders in Japan other than the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum” (said one of Japan’s top technology leaders, former Board Director of Japan’s largest Telecommunications Operator, former President of a large University, and former President of one of Japan’s most important technology organizations)
and as an additional bonus we will create new cooperations and new initiatives.
Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership – my actions so far
Several confidential preparations with Japanese Ministry officials and foreign Embassies in Japan.
One key conclusion from preparations: top priority and most difficult is to change mindsets in Japan regarding empowering women and gender issues
At the 8th Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on 18 February 2016 at the Embassy of Austria in Tokyo, honored by the participation of Her Imperial Highness, Princess Takamado, and Nobel Prize Winner Shuji Nakamura, invited Professor Kyoko Nomura to give the keynote “Gender inequality in Japan: a case report of women doctors“.
Next step is today’s (16 May 2016) “Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership”.
How to change mindsets? Expand the solution space and add new dimensions!
The basic issues, empowering women and men to combine child care and professional development, work towards greater equality and improving decision making by implementing diversity of decision makers are similar all over the world, especially in Europe and Japan.
Learning solutions from each other, expands the dimensionality of the solution space.
Expanding the solution space: learning about The Federal Ministry for Families and Youth
When we are looking for solutions to solve difficult problems, our search for solutions is limited by our experience, knowledge and imagination. Our search for solutions is in space of limited dimensionality. In many cases solutions exist outside the space we are considering.
Therefore to reach better solutions, its necessary to expand this solution space. Looking how other countries solve similar problems is one straight forward way to expand the dimensionality of the solution space, and that is where the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum aims to contribute.
As an example, many people in Japan do not know that most European countries have a Family Ministry (家族省), which represents Families at the Cabinet level. In fact, most Japanese people I have been discussing this issue with are perplexed by the possibility of a Family Ministry (家族省), and usually in response ask, what the tasks of a Family Ministry would be.
If your country does not have a Family Ministry, if you have never heard about a Family Ministry, its difficult to come up with the proposal to create a Family Ministry, and its difficult to imagine what a Family Ministry should do.
At the same time, in today’s internet age, its in theory only a click away to have a look at a Family Ministry: here is the webpage of Austria’s Family Ministry: Das Österreichische “Bundesministerium für Familien und Jugend” (The Austrian Federal Ministry for families and youth, オーストリア連邦家族・青年省)
And here is the current Austrian Minister for Family and Youth, Dr. Sophie Karmasin. 49 years old, with two children, Dr Sophie Karmasin has achieved a Doctorate in Psychology on “consumer behavior in the health market”, from 1993 to 2013, for 13 years she has pursued a very successful career in industry, most recently as Managing Director/CEO of a major market research company, before becoming party independent Minister of Family and Youth. She is not affiliated with any political party, but independent politician since 2013.
Expanding the solution space: wouldn’t it be better to have at least one woman on a committee promoting women’s empowerment?
Compare Family and Youth Minister Dr Sophie Karmasin with the all-male “woman act.” committee promoting women’s equality in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, wouldn’t it be better to have at least one woman on a committee promoting women? But unless you are familiar on how this is done in other countries, your solution space is limited to what you know.
Why did today’s Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership happen? Because of Trinity College Cambridge
At a recent event of Trinity College Cambridge in Hong Kong, I met with Dame Carol Black, and our meeting led to today’s Forum.
Trinity College was founded By King Henry VIII in 1546 by combining the two older colleges King’s Hall and Michael House and seven Hostels. Sir Isaac Newton worked at Trinity College and about 32 Nobel Prize winners are or were members of Trinity College. Trinity College is part of the University of Cambridge
More about Trinity College Cambridge, for example on the website of our Trinity in Japan Society.
Why Ludwig Boltzmann Forum? Who is Ludwig Boltzmann?
Ludwig Boltzmann is one of the world’s most important physicists and we use his results and tools every day. Here are some examples of his work:
- How we measure temperature (Kelvin, Celsius) is directly linked to Boltzmann’s constant k, especially after the new definitions of the SI International System of measurement units
- S = k log W, linking macroscopic entropy to the microscopic statistics of molecules, and linking statistical mechanics with measuring information, and the arrow of time
- the Stefan-Boltzmann radiation law
- Boltzmann transport equations are used to design jet engines and aircraft and in semiconductor physics and many other areas
- philosophy of nature
- and much much more….
I am developing the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum a global leadership platform in honor of my great-grandfather.
Ludwig Boltzmann and women’s development and leadership
1872 Ludwig Boltzmann met Henriette von Aigentler (my great-grandmother), who was refused permission to unofficially audit lectures at Graz University, where Ludwig Boltzmann later became University President. Ludwig Boltzmann advised her to appeal, in 1874 Henriette passed the exam as high-school teacher, and on 17 July 1876, Ludwig Boltzmann and Henriette von Aigentler married.
One of Ludwig Boltzmann’s students is Lise Meitner (November 1878 – 27 October 1968). She was only the second woman to be awarded a PhD in Physics from the University of Vienna. Later she was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize for this work. Element No. 109, Meitnerium, is named after Lise Meitner.
Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership – outlook and next steps
- Lets build the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on women’s development and leadership together
- Lets empower women leaders
- Lets change mind sets
- Lets build the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum into a global leadership platform based on science and logic
- lets expand the solution space for important problems, and work towards implementing these solutions
Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership: Notes
Ludwig Boltzmann Forum on Women’s development and leadership summary written by Gerhard Fasol, view the full workshop program and summaries of all other keynotes here.
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