• The End of Work
• The Biotech Century
• The Age of Access
• The Hydrogen Economy
• The European Dream
Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, is the author of seventeen books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages and are used in hundreds of universities, corporations and government agencies around the world.
In his newest international bestseller,The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, Mr. Rifkin argues that while the great American Dream is fading, a powerful new European Dream is beginning to capture the attention and imagination of the world. The nascent European Dream, says Rifkin, is, in many respects, the mirror opposite of the American Dream, but far better suited to meet the challenges of a globalizing society in the 21st century. Rifkin draws on more than twenty years of personal experience working in Europe, where he has advised heads of state and political parties, consulted with Europe's leading companies, and helped spur grass-roots, environmental, and social justice campaigns.
In his 2002 international bestseller, The Hydrogen Economy, Rifkin takes us on an eye-opening journey into the next great commercial era in history. He envisions the dawn of a new economy powered by hydrogen that will fundamentally change the nature of our market, political and social institutions, just as coal and steam power did at the beginning of the industrial age. The 2004 revised edition of his 1995 international best-seller, The End of Work, is widely credited with helping shape the current global debate on technology displacement, corporate downsizing and the future of jobs. Mr. Rifkin's 2000 international bestseller, The Age of Access, explores the vast changes occurring in the capitalist system as it makes the transition from geographic markets to e-commerce networks and from industrial to cultural production. His 1998 international bestseller, The Biotech Century, addresses the many critical issues accompanying the new era of genetic commerce and is the most widely read book in the world on the biotech revolution.
Mr. Rifkin holds a degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Rifkin speaks frequently before government, business, labor and civic forums. He has lectured at more than 500 universities in some 25 countries in the past 30 years. Since 1994, Mr. Rifkin has been a fellow at the Wharton School's Executive Education Program, where he lectures to CEOs and senior corporate management from around the world on new trends in science and technology and their impacts on the global economy, society and the environment. Mr. Rifkin's monthly column on global issues appears in many of the world's leading newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian in the U.K., Die Suddeutsche Zeitung in Germany, Le Soir and Knack in Belgium, L'Espresso in Italy, El Pais in Spain, Information in Denmark, Hospodarske noviny in the Czech Republic, Eesti Päevaleht in Estonia, Trud in Bulgaria, Clarin in Argentina, Al-Ittihad in the U.A.E, and Chosun Ilbo in Korea.
Rifkin has been influential in shaping public policy in the United States and around the world. He has testified before numerous congressional committees and has had consistent success in litigation to ensure responsible government policies on a variety of environmental, scientific and technology related issues. He has been a frequent guest on numerous television programs, including CNN's Crossfire, Face the Nation, The Lehrer News Hour, 20/20, Larry King Live, Today, and Good Morning America. The National Journal named Rifkin as one of 150 people in the U.S. that have the most influence in shaping federal government policy.
Mr. Rifkin is the founder and president of The Foundation on Economic Trends in Washington, DC. The foundation examines the economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts of new technologies introduced into the global economy.
TOPICS:
• The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Offering an Alternative Model to the American Dream
• The Age of Access: The Shift from Markets to Networks and the Rethinking of Commerce in the 21st Century
• The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World
• The End of Work: Rethinking Employment in the 21st Century
• The Hydrogen Economy: Making the Transition to the Third Industrial Revolution and a New Energy Era
CLIENT QUOTES:
"Many in the scholarly, religious, and political field praise Jeremy Rifkin for a willingness to think big, raise controversial questions, and serve as a social and ethical prophet."
--The New York Times
PARTIAL LIST OF CLIENTS:
CitiGroup
Deutsche Bank
DZ Bank
Ernst & Young
Hewlett-Packard
IBM
International Energy Group, Inc.
KPMG
Mackenzie Financial
McKinsey Consulting
Merril-Lynch
Prudential Plc
RBC Financial Group
Wall Street Journal
WesCorp
Zurich Financial Services
TOPIC DESCRIPTIONS:
The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future is Offering an Alternative Model to the American Dream
Mr. Rifkin's lecture presentation delves into the many features of the nascent European Dream. For more than two centuries the world has looked to the American Dream for inspiration and guidance. Now, a newly emerging European Dream is beginning to offer an alternative to the American vision. The European Dream represents a new chapter in world history. It is the first attempt at creating a global consciousness, befitting a globalizing economy. Mr. Rifkin will explore the political, social, and cultural aspects of the fledgling European Dream and its implications for the business community and society.
The Hydrogen Economy
In his presentation on “The Hydrogen Economy,” best-selling author Jeremy Rifkin takes us on an eye-opening journey into the next great commercial era in history. He envisions the dawn of a new economy powered by hydrogen that will fundamentally change the nature of our market, political and social institutions, just as coal and steam power did at the beginning of the industrial age.
The Age of Access: The Shift from Markets to Networks and the Rethinking of Commerce in the 21st Century
Jeremy Rifkin is the author of the international best seller, The Age of Access, which has been translated into fourteen languages. Mr. Rifkin's lecture, “The Age of Access”, will focus on the profound changes taking place in the global economy with particular emphasis on the new economic models that are beginning to fundamentally change the way we do business.
The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World
In his presentation, Mr. Rifkin will explore, in detail, the great shift into the biotech century. After more than forty years of running on parallel tracks, the information and life sciences are beginning to fuse into a single powerful technological and economic force that is laying the foundation for the Biotech Century. The computer is increasingly being used to decipher, manage and organize the vast genetic information that is the raw resource of the new global economy. Already, transnational corporations are creating giant life-science complexes from which to fashion a bio-industrial world.
The End of Work: Rethinking Employment in the 21st Century
Mr. Rifkin's presentation will focus on the vast changes taking place in the nature of employment, as the world makes the shift from mass wage labor to small, highly educated, elite workforces, working side by side with increasingly intelligent, cheap and efficient automated technologies. We are entering a new phase in history - one characterized by the steady and inevitable decline of jobs. Just as the steam engine replaced slave labor in the 19th century, the new intelligent technologies of the IT, biotech, and nanotechnology revolutions, are fast replacing mass wage labor in the 21st century. Worldwide unemployment is now at the highest level since the great depression of the 1930s. The number of people underemployed or without work is rising sharply as millions of new entrants into the workforce find themselves marginalized by an extraordinary high-technology revolution. Sophisticated computers, robotics, telecommunications, and other cutting-edge technologies are fast replacing human beings in virtually every sector and industry. In the past seven years alone, 14% of all the manufacturing jobs in the world have disappeared, as more and more human labor has been replaced with intelligent, automated technology. Similar technology displacement is occurring in the white collar and service industries.
TRAVELS FROM: Maryland
FEE CATEGORY: D ($15.5 to 20k)
