“Pushing Limits – Questioning Goals”
The
general topic of the 32nd St. Gallen Symposium was "Pushing Limits Questioning Goals".
The starting point for the development of the topic was the idea that all areas of human endeavour are
subject to the dichotomy between goals and limits. Thus, it is precisely at times of radical change
and crisis that fundamental questions about our goals and limits take on urgent economic and political
relevance. Many hitherto accepted goals must be challenged in a constructive manner, and adapted to
new circumstances. Once more, the ISC’s goal was to use the general topic as a basis on which to design
a programme which would use plenary discussions, Special Sessions and Leadership Sessions to find a
point of departure for constructive exchange and informal dialogue which would transcend national and
generational boundaries. Various plenary papers presented on the first day posed questions about the
new limits which may come into being as a result of hitherto unknown risks or new political problems.
The plenary discussion "Goals and Limits of a Global Company" dealt with similar issues. The
Special Sessions which took place as is traditional on the afternoons of the Thursday and Friday of
the Symposium, dealt in depth with issues principally relating to the interface between politics and
business. Other plenary discussions - on the second day of the symposium - concentrated on the issue
of corporate responsibility as well as on the goals and framework conditions of the global economy.
A highlight of the second day was the presentation of the contributions devised by the winners of the
St. Gallen Wings of Excellence Award. The third day’s speeches cast new light in particular on the sphere
of international politics and on the foreign, domestic and security policies of and on the foreign,
domestic and security policies of Macedonia as well as on the U.S.A.
