Maja Göpel
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Maja Göpel (born 27 June 1976) is a German
political economist Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour m ...
, transformation researcher, and sustainability scientist with a focus on
transdisciplinary Transdisciplinarity connotes a research strategy that crosses many disciplinary boundaries to create a holistic approach. It applies to research efforts focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more disciplines, such as research o ...
work. As a speaker and author, she has increasingly specialised in science communication since 2019 when she co-founded the
Scientists for Future Scientists for Future (S4F) is an international environmental initiative founded by a group of scientists in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in support of the student movement Fridays for Future (FFF). In March 2019 the initiative issued a ...
initiative. Göpel is an honorary professor at
Leuphana University of Lüneburg Leuphana University Lüneburg is a public university in Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Leuphana was founded in 1946 as a college of education (''Pädagogische Hochschule''). Leuphana established a unique university model within the German acad ...
.


Early life and education

Göpel was born in
Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
. She received a diploma in media and communications from the
University of Siegen The University of Siegen (german: Universität Siegen) is a public research university located in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia and is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a society of Germany's leading research universities. The Univers ...
in 2001 and her PhD in political economy from the
University of Kassel The University of Kassel (german: link=no, Universität Kassel) is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 profe ...
in 2007. From 2003 to 2006, she had a PhD scholarship of the , taught at the
University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...
and volunteered with the
Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (; BUND, ) is a German non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to preserving nature and protecting the environment. The name means "German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation". ...
(BUND) in their work on globalisation and world trade.


Career

From 2006 to 2012, Göpel helped start the
World Future Council The World Future Council (WFC) is a German non-profit foundation with its headquarters in Hamburg. It works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to future generations. FuturePolicy.org The website f ...
as Campaign Manager Climate Energy in Hamburg and as Director Future Justice of the Brussels office, working in EU and UN contexts. From 2013 to 2017, she served as head of the Berlin office of the
Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy The Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (official German name: ) is a German research institution for sustainability research focusing on impacts and practical application. It explores and develops models, strategies and inst ...
with a focus on sustainability transformations. In 2016, she published her book
The Great Mindshift: How a New Economic Paradigm and Sustainability Transformations Go Hand in Hand
' that summarizes research on system transformations, political economy and change management with an emphasis on a change in paradigms, mindsets (mentality) and competencies with which humans shape technical, economic, and social institutions. From 2017 to 2020, she was Secretary General of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), a body that advises the German government on shaping its policies towards sustainability. In 2019, she was appointed honorary professor at the
Leuphana University of Lüneburg Leuphana University Lüneburg is a public university in Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Leuphana was founded in 1946 as a college of education (''Pädagogische Hochschule''). Leuphana established a unique university model within the German acad ...
. Also in 2019, she co-founded the Scientists for Future initiative, which published a statement of thousands of scientists validating the claims of the Fridays for Future student protests. In February 2020, Göpel published the non-fiction book
Unsere Welt neu denken. Eine Einladung
' (
Ullstein Verlag The ''Ullstein Verlag'' was founded by Leopold Ullstein in 1877 at Berlin and is one of the largest publishing companies of Germany. It published newspapers like '' B.Z.'' and ''Berliner Morgenpost'' and books through its subsidiaries ''Ullstein B ...
), which became number 3 on the German annual bestseller list 2020. From 2020 to 2021, she was Director of Research of ''The New Institute,'' founded in Hamburg in 2020, before she decided to devote more time to science communication. End of 2021, she became visiting professor at the
College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...
in Bruges. Göpel is, among others, a member of the Bioeconomy Council of the German Federal Government, the International Club of Rome, the
World Future Council The World Future Council (WFC) is a German non-profit foundation with its headquarters in Hamburg. It works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to future generations. FuturePolicy.org The website f ...
, the
Balaton Group The Balaton Group (The International Network of Resource Information Centers) is a global network of researchers and practitioners in fields related to systems and sustainability. The name "Balaton Group" refers to the Lake Balaton region of Hun ...
founded by
Donella Meadows Donella Hager "Dana" Meadows (March 13, 1941 – February 20, 2001) was an American environmental scientist, educator, and writer. She is best known as lead author of the books ''The Limits to Growth'' and '' Thinking In Systems: A Primer''. E ...
and
Dennis Meadows Dennis Lynn Meadows (born June 7, 1942) is an American scientist and Emeritus Professor of Systems Management, and former director of the Institute for Policy and Social Science Research at the University of New Hampshire. He is President of t ...
in 1982, and the German Commission for UNESCO, as well as of the Board of Trustees of WWF Germany, the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Natural History Berlin, and the advisory board of the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources (BSEER) at
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
. Göpel was nominated by the Alliance 90/The Greens as delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the
President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
in
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
.


Awards

In 2019, Maja Göpel received the Adam Smith Prize, in 2020 the "Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitspreis des Bundesdeutschen Arbeitskreises für Umweltbewusstes Management (B.A.U.M)". In 2021, she was awarded the Erich Fromm Prize, the Theodor Heuss Prize as well as the Science Communication Medal of the Max Planck Society. Also in 2021, The
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
ranked her 17th among the 100 most influential German economists.


Selected works

*Göpel, M., & Arhelger, M. (2010). How to Protect Future Generations' Rights in European Governance. In: ''Intergenerational Justice Review'' (1). *Göpel, M. (2010). Formulating Future Just Policies: Applying the Delhi Sustainable Development Law Principles. In: ''Sustainability'' 2/6 2010, pp. 1694–1718, doi:10.3390/su2061694. *Göpel, M. (2011). The Tragedy of our Growth Saga. In: F. Hinterberger, E. Pirgmaier et al. (eds.): ''Growth in Transition''. Earthscan, London, pp. 147–153, ISBN 978-1-84971-395-5. *Göpel, M. (2011). Shared Responsibilities and Future Generations: Beyond the Dominant Concepts of Justice, in: Council of Europe (eds.), ''Towards a Europe of Shared Social Responsibilities: Challenges and Strategies. Trends in Social Cohesion'', No. 23, Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg, pp. 135–155, http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/socialpolicies/socialcohesiondev/source/Trends/Trends_23_EN.pdf. *Göpel, M. (2012). Ombudspersons for Future Generations as Sustainability Implementation Inits. In: ''Stakeholder Forum'' Vol. 204''.'' https://stakeholderforum.org/sdg2012-think-pieces/. *Göpel, M. (2013). The Responsibility to Prevent: Early Warning Systems to Protect Future Generations, in: M.C. Cordonier Segger, S. Jodoin (eds.), ''Sustainable Development, International Criminal Justice and Treaty Implementation'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. *Göpel, M. (2014). Navigating a New Agenda: Questions and Answers on Paradigm Shifts & Transformational Change, working paper, Wuppertal Institute, http://epub.wupperinst.org/frontdoor/index/index/docId/5517. *Göpel, M. (2016). ''The Great Mindshift: How a New Economic Paradigm and Sustainability Transformations Go Hand in Hand''. Springer International, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-319-43765-1, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-43766-8. *Göpel M. (2016) Why the Mainstream Economic Paradigm Cannot Inform Sustainability Transformations. In: T''he Great Mindshift. The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science'', vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43766-8_3 *Göpel, M. (2017)
Shedding Some Light on the Invisible: The Transformative Power of Paradigm Shifts
in: T. Henfrey, G. Maschkowski and G. Penha-Lopes (eds.), Resilience, Community Action & Societal Transformation, Permanent Publications, pp. 113–140. *Göpel, M. with Ioan Fazey et al. (2017). Ten Essentials for Action-Oriented and Second Order Energy Transitions, Transformations and Climate Change Research, in: ''Energy Research & Social Science'', Vol. 40, pp. 54–70. *As Co-Author of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) (2019). ''Just & In-Time Climate Policy. Four Initiatives for a Fair Transformation'', Policy Paper, https://www.wbgu.de/en/publications/publication/just-in-time-climate-policy-four-initiatives-for-a-fair-transformation. *As Co-Author of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) (2019). ''Towards Our Common Digital Future'', Flagship Report, https://www.wbgu.de/en/publications/publication/towards-our-common-digital-future. *As Co-Author of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) (2019). ''Digital Momentum for the UN Sustainability Agenda in the 21st Century'', Policy Paper, https://www.wbgu.de/en/publications/publication/pp10-2019. *As Co-Author of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) (2019). ''A European Way to Our Common Digital Future'', Policy Paper, https://www.wbgu.de/en/publications/publication/pp11-2019. *As Co-Author of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) (2020). ''Rethinking Land in the Anthropocene: from Separation to Integration'', Flagship Report, https://www.wbgu.de/en/publications/publication/landshift. *Göpel, M. (2020). ''Unsere Welt neu denken: Eine Einladung''. Ullstein, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-550-20079-3. Translations: Dutch, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian. *Göpel, M. (2020). A Social-Green Deal, with Just Transition—the European Answer to the Coronavirus Crisis, in: ''Social Europe'', 31. März 2020, https://socialeurope.eu/a-social-green-deal-with-just-transition-the-european-answer-to-the-coronavirus-crisis.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopel, Maja 1975 births German economists Living people Academic staff of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg Writers from Bielefeld Sustainability scientists Academic staff of the University of Hamburg University of Siegen alumni University of Kassel alumni