Driven by Hope: Economics and Theology in dialogue

I  have never been to Leuven, but oh! the glory of  the Belgium Grand Prix is next to none and this photo taken by my son Niel (2010) is simply brilliant with the car in focus and the motion visible in the surroundings.

I immediately opened the e mail with this topic on hope in the subject line because I could not wait to see the ‘what’ and ‘where’ of this conference. The Institute of Leadership and Social Issues (ILSE) and the Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organisation (EHERO) are the organizers of this conference that will take place in Leuven (Belgium), 24-25 February 2017. The conference venue is the Leuven Center of Christian Studies which forms part of the ‘Evangelische Theologische Faculteit’. As can be expected with this topic, abstracts are expected from various disciplines, including Theology, Ethics, Psychology & Methodology, and Economics. Abstracts can focus either on the interplay between hope and/with these disciplines or on the significance of hope in general. Abstracts cannot exceed 500 words and must be submitted before 15 December to be double blind peer reviewed before the end of December.

‘Hope always triumphs over experience’, said Robert Fulghum the famous Texan theologian/author. Hope is also the driving force behind positive change, transformation, innovation and development. Hope helps us to cope and to persevere, and it is also a virtue that is needed in the academic world and especially amongst scholars who are not theologians. Maybe the greatest need for hope is in the economic sector and that is exactly why this will be such an important event. The keynote speakers are Prof. Luigino Bruni, Prof. Patrick Nullens and Dr. Martijn Burger; people who are inspirational and motivating.

Despite suffering severely during both World Wars, Leuven is a beautiful city with several magnificent old buildings that survived the wars (symbols of hope) and which could soon become UNESCO World Heritage Sites along with the two existing sites (the Groot Begijnhof and the Belfry on St Peter's Church) which are definitely worth a visit. The largest and oldest Catholic university is also in Leuven.