The CROSS-REIS project was prominently represented at the World Conference on Science and Art for Sustainability (WCSAS), held on 23–24 September 2025 at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade. Prof. Žiga Turk of the University of Ljubljana and member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts delivered a well-received lecture entitled “Sustainable and Regenerative Economics: Making the World a Better Place.”
Prof. Turk’s presentation stood out for its clear argument that sustainability must not mean stagnation. Instead, societies endure by evolving—through responsible stewardship, sound engineering, and innovation. Using the example of the Slovenian Karst and the foundations of Venice, he reminded the audience that progress inevitably leaves a footprint, yet it can also create lasting value for generations.
The lecture highlighted the role of engineering and construction as both a source of emissions and a driver of solutions, with digital technologies such as BIM and Digital Twins already delivering measurable reductions in material use and embodied carbon. Prof. Turk described the construction sector as a “double winner” of climate change, benefitting from both decarbonisation and the growing demand for resilient infrastructure.
Importantly, the lecture also showcased CROSS-REIS as a European initiative building excellence in regenerative economic innovation, and introduced the newly established Journal of Regenerative Economics, which provides a scholarly platform for advancing this emerging paradigm. Both references underscored the contribution of the project and its partners to shaping the international debate.
Prof. Turk concluded by emphasising that humanity has the means to meet sustainability challenges—not through fear, but through competence, collaboration, and creativity. The planet may be finite. but what is unknown is infinite and a limitless resource that can be exploited by innovation.
The Belgrade conference gathered a truly distinguished audience. Speakers included Michel Spiro, Chair of the Earth-Humanity Coalition; Carlos Álvarez Pereira, Secretary General of the Club of Rome; and Garry Jacobs, President and CEO of the World Academy of Art and Science. Also present was Klaus Mainzer, President of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, alongside senior representatives of UNESCO and eminent scientists from CERN, the European Commission, and academies and universities across the globe.
In this high-level company, the presentation of the CROSS-REIS project and the Journal of Regenerative Economics placed our initiative firmly on the international stage. It demonstrated that regenerative economics and the innovation networks being developed in the Western Balkans are part of the same global conversation being shaped by the presidents of the world’s leading academies, senior policymakers, and distinguished scholars.
For more on the conference, see the official page of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts: World Conference on Science and Art for Sustainability.