Societies must be able to anticipate change and prepare for it through education, cooperation and dialogue, as economic uncertainty, technological transformations and environmental pressures make today's challenges increasingly difficult to manage, National Bank of Romania (BNR) Governor Mugur Isarescu said on Wednesday.

'The importance of bringing these ideas into public debate is particularly great today, when our societies, under pressure, interact in ways that are increasingly difficult to manage. Economic uncertainty affects our ability to plan. Technological change creates opportunities, but requires new skills and new forms of judgement. Environmental pressures affect production, infrastructure and livelihoods. When trust weakens, it becomes more difficult to agree on how we should respond,' BNR Governor Mugur Isarescu said.

He delivered the opening address at the conference 'No Limits to Hope: Sense-making for Alternative Futures', organised by Club of Rome and the Romanian Association for the Club of Rome at the BNR headquarters.

In his speech, Mugur Isarescu recalled Mircea Malita's contribution to international debates on education and the future of societies, referring to the 1979 report 'No Limits to Learning', which Malita co-authored with James Botkin and Mahdi Elmandjra.

'A scholar, diplomat and educator, Mircea Malita brought to the international debate a firm belief in the power of knowledge and dialogue. His work supports the idea that societies must be able to anticipate change and prepare for it through education, cooperation and informed reasoning,' Isarescu said.

According to the governor, the 'No Limits to Learning' report placed at the centre of the debate the widening gap between the complexity of the problems facing humanity and its ability to understand and address them. Education was viewed as extending beyond the classroom, encompassing the capacity of societies and institutions to learn, question established ideas and anticipate change.

The BNR governor also recalled his personal connection with the work of the Club of Rome, saying that he had participated in discussions held in Romania in the 1970s on the report 'The Limits to Growth' and, as a researcher at the Institute of World Economy, had published studies and analyses on the issues it addressed.

Referring to three areas he considers important for the future, Isarescu highlighted long-term thinking, resilient institutions and cooperation.

'The first concerns the importance of a long-term perspective. Immediate pressures inevitably demand attention. Yet the quality of our response depends in part on our ability to look beyond them. Decisions made today shape the options and constraints of future generations,' he said.

Regarding institutions, the governor stressed that their resilience depends on clear mandates, professional competence and the ability to learn from experience.

'Their credibility is built over time through consistent decisions, accountability and an honest explanation of what they can achieve. Trust is particularly important here. People are more willing to engage with difficult issues when they see that their concerns are heard and that evidence is openly considered. Dialogue requires the patience to explain, the willingness to listen and the humility to reconsider our assumptions,' Mugur Isarescu added.

The third priority identified by the BNR governor was cooperation, given that many of the forces shaping societies extend beyond national borders.

'Understanding them requires the exchange of knowledge, while an effective response often calls for coordinated effort. Dialogue across countries and generations helps us recognise risks earlier,' he said.

The conference features the presentation of the report 'Constellations of Hope', which explores how education can help narrow the gap between humanity's capacity to transform reality and its ability to understand the consequences of its own actions. According to the BNR governor, the Romanian Association for the Club of Rome has produced the first Romanian translation of the report.

Isarescu recalled that the association had previously supported the Romanian translation of 'The Blue Economy', authored by Gunter Pauli, making Romania the first European country to translate the report. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: George Banciulea; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)