CLUB OF ROME SALON: Building the City of the Future

A Collaboration between Arts & Nature Social Club & Club of Rome Germany

Tuesday, 9 December 2025
Rosenthaler Str. 38 (Backyard)
10178 Berlin
6:15 pm: Entrance/Networking
6:50 pm: Official Start

The registration includes free alcoholic beverages and soft drinks.

Speakers:

Franziska Giffey, Deputy Governing Mayor and Berlin State Senator for Economy, Energy & Enterprise

Dimitri Kerkentzes, Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE)

Dr. Dominik von Achten (TBC), Chairman of the Managing Board, Heidelberg Materials

Prof. Dr. Eckart Würzner, Mayor, City of Heidelberg; Chair, UN Forum of Mayors, Vice President, Association of German Cities (“Deutscher Städtetag”)

Welcome Remarks:

Dr. Hinrich Thölken, Member, Supervisory Council, EXPO 2035 Berlin; Exec. Vice President, Capgemini; former Climate & Energy Ambassador

Jörg Geier, Member, Club of Rome and Chair (Programs), ANSC (Curation & Moderation)

ABOUT THIS SALON:

What role can cities play in advancing global sustainability goals? How can World Expos serve as a launchpad for related projects and initiatives?

Cities are the chosen form of life for the majority of the world’s population. Naturally they can be the heart of sustainable development. They unite people, resources, and challenges—while also offering the greatest space for solutions. Cities drive innovation, economic activity, and cultural exchange, but also produce the majority of emissions and resource use. Since the adoption of Agenda 2030, cities have proven to be powerful drivers of global goals through sustainable infrastructure, inclusive planning, and resilient systems. Their actions on energy, housing, mobility, waste, and equity directly shape climate outcomes, social well-being, and economic sustainability are key for humanity—making cities both the front line of risks and the most powerful engines of transformation.

World Expos have historically acted as global stages for major themes like industrial progress, culture, and technology. In recent decades, sustainability has increasingly become a central idea. Expo 2000 in Hanover was the first to frame sustainability explicitly. R. Buckminster Fuller’s Expo 67 dome is often cited as an early architectural expression of sustainable design at a World Expo. In this sense, the sustainability concept has been woven into the fabric of Expos long before it became an explicit theme. World Expos of the future face an even bigger responsibility: to set examples for the creation of the kind of future we want to create. The current Expo in Osaka illustrates this pacemaker role.

Berlin, with its distinct history, culture, scientific, and artistic excellence, has a lot to bring to the table. How, then, could an Expo 2035 in Berlin contribute towards showcasing the city as a model metropolis for the 21st century? How might Berlin stimulate innovation and economic growth across products and services while serving as a platform for citizen participation and enabling collaboration with other German and international cities?

Cities like Heidelberg have already shown how linking global goals to local action can turn urban areas into living labs of innovation, planning, and citizen participation. By gathering best practices from cities of all sizes—nationally and internationally— and building networks for exchange, urban areas can share experiences and demonstrate how they can become drivers of change and lighthouses of innovation.

“Cities are at the forefront of active climate protection. In order to reach our 2030 and 2050 targets locally and globally, a culture of enabling is required on a national and international level. That is why the EU must also create a legal framework that accelerates green, just and sustainable recovery.” (Prof. Dr. Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg, July 12, 2021)

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