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http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.FP7DetailsCallPage&call_id=255&act_code=SSH&ID_ACTIVITY=8. |
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9nth December 2009
A meeting between Mark, Daniel and myself was held.
Mark gave me a clear account of the difficulties
regarding Tervuren and Daniel’s contribution was very useful by proposing
networks that could help in our endeavours.
The conclusion of the meeting was: SSH call: no - PS
1 & PS 2: yes
I can write up the theoretical proposal for my new
strategy in one afternoon. But applying the proposal means getting in touch
with all the stakeholders involved including a financial assessment of
our/their needs in a few days’ time. I cannot do this alone, even with
Daniel’s help, in only a few days’ time.
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I shall try to resume the difficulties encountered.
This shall be very useful when presenting the PS 1 and PS 2 as such under
existing/future calls.
During the Info Day for the call, I was given to
understand that I could present PS1 (and/or PS2) as such for the SA. This is
what I really wanted to do. A straightforward simple concrete project that
could be used as a model for maximum impact on society well being and
quality of life.
During the meeting with the Belgian NCPs, I was told
that I could NOT present PS 1 as such for the Call, but the Belgian NCPs
kindly proposed to find other calls that would best fit PS 1 and PS 2...
The Commission needed a thinking paradigm that would
lead to sustainable lifestyles. This sounded rather abstract. As I explained
in my e-mails, I realised that this thinking paradigm could easily form part
of the Interface Paradigm. Problem: No one was familiar with interface
theory that is in itself very complex. So I presented an intuitive approach
that seemed more accessible. Apparently not.
The idea was to propose creating a National Society
Well Being and Quality of Life Profile for the SA Call. In so doing, we
would necessarily propose a paradigm to achieve sustainable lifestyles. A
National Society Well Being and Quality of Life Profile is an integrated
interdisciplinary bottom-up top-down challenge. This means that for Belgium,
you need to make an assessment of Tervuren Society Well Being and Quality of
Life (SWBQoL) + Hasselt SWBQoL + Ostende SWBQoL + Leuven SWBQoL + Brussels
SWBQoL + Liège SWBQoL + … These are necessarily interconnected. If the
inhabitants do not realise this interconnectedness, then it is our job to
awaken this interconnectedness that the System has so nicely broken up for
us.
This thinking paradigm for Belgium can easily be
adapted anywhere in whatever country. Then you link this together… leading
to a world society well being and quality of life assessment.
This is what I had in mind for answering the SSH Call.
Not only had Mark considerable difficulty understanding
PS1 (and if so, probably many others in Tervuren) but when it came to
proposing the new strategy, he was completely confused. I realised that I
could not get through to him what I had in mind. The Tervuren administration
and outside seemed two different worlds.
So, to my mind, it shall be simpler for everybody if we
concentrate on PS1 and PS2 or existing/forthcoming calls. Everybody
understands the basic idea behind PS1 and PS2, but I shall work on a short
abstract for the NCPs.
Mark has requested a Dutch version of the abstract. I
hope Hans shall be able to help me here. Mark is a lawyer, a member of the
Flemish Green Party, formerly in charge of the Environment in Tervuren and
presently a member of the Tervuren Council (Opposition). He has agreed to
consider presenting a Dutch version of the abstract to the Tervuren Council.
Mark is very pessimistic on the possibility of
awakening the conscience of the inhabitants of Tervuren to the “world
outside”, especially because of the local political inertia and lack of
interest in areas outside Tervuren. There still seems to be a “village
mentality”; this is a personal impression of Tervuren.
Motivating 20000 inhabitants without full support from
the local political authorities is extremely difficult. What can be done do
make the local authorities take an interest in PS 1 and PS 2? Pressure from
“higher up”: Flemish networks, political authorities, the VVSG, The
Vlaamse Brabant Authorities, the Gewest in Leuven, the Flemish media,
organising meetings in Tervuren. For the latter, there is a need for a
bottom-up approach from the population: determined activists. One way I am
told to get the Mayor interested would be to make him realise that Tervuren
shall hit the European/World highlights for the PS 1 (and PS 2). This would
glorify his ego.
I am satisfied with this meeting because we were able
to pin point the difficulties ahead. We have the beginnings of a dialogue.
We are beginning to communicate.
You shall all receive an abstract of PS 1 & PS 2 in due course.
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I have informed Marc Goffart (EU Commission) of our
decision concerning the SSH Call.
I have asked him to inform me if there have been no
applicants at all for this call, in which case the deadline would be
extended.
Should we have the possibility of going ahead with the
proposal “InterfaceSL”, the latter being much broader, Mark’s (Mark
Van Roy) contribution may be more limited. However, Daniel has many
interesting suggestions in this regard.
One last thing. In fact, this is a comment I made back
in 2002. Research and innovative initiatives should not depend exclusively
on the European Commission. Indeed, the latter can hold everything back...
If the EU Research Programme does not meet the needs (like PS 1 and PS 2),
there is always the theoretical possibility to short-circuit the FP7
Programme (or other) through a direct parallel intergovernmental or
independent (“private”) network, whichever is most appropriate and
feasible.
I have been invited to make a presentation before the
Acting Director of ERA (European Research Area). The objective here is to
completely rethink the EU FP structure. This shall simply be just another
application of the Interface Paradigm.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Vivian R. F. Linssen D.I.
Founding
Director & CEO
International
Multidisciplinary Neuroscience Research Center a.s.b.l./v.z.w.
Principal
Coordinator
NewPOL
Consortium Network
Jesus-Eiklaan
120
BE-3080 Tervuren
Tel:
+3227681730
Fax:
+3227681321
e-mail:
vivian.linssen@imnrc.org
url
1: www.imnrc.org
url
2: www.infodiagnosis.com
P please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
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NB.
The tragic premature death in June 2010 of an elderly French speaking sick
lady living in Tervuren (Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Belgium) through isolation and sheer
stress (linguistic apartheid) is making further collaboration with the Flemish
very difficult but not impossible. This shall depend on the Flemish themselves.
