GRF Young Professionals
2022-2023 Term, Third Meeting
January 7, 2023

The third meeting of the 2022-2023 term of the GRF Young Professionals Program, which aims to provide a platform for young professionals who are equipped with the resolve, background, and experience to contribute to the future of Turkey and the world, was held on January 7, 2023 at Koç Pera.

The meeting started with a speech by Mr. Memduh Karakullukçu, Founding President (2009-2019) & Board Member of GRF, Founding Director of İTÜ-ARI Teknokent, Founding Partner of Kanunum.com and Chairman of Kroton Consulting, entitled "Energy, Climate and Geopolitics in the Midst of an Unruly Transition". In his speech, Mr. Karakullukçu examined the turbulent transition process occurring in the global energy system, and analyzed the underlying structural shifts triggered by geopolitical-geoeconomic dynamics, along with the multi-faceted implications of renewable energy policies stemming from long-term trends such as climate change. Mr. Karakullukçu also shared with the participants his short, medium and long-term projections regarding the variety of risks and uncertainties involved in this comprehensive transition, whilst also offering a number of solution-oriented scenarios. Following his speech, Mr. Karakullukçu answered the participants’ questions.

The meeting, open to the participation of GRF Community members as well, continued around the themes of ’Space’ and ’Inequality’ with two presentations and debate sessions held on each topic.

The books used to frame the discussions during the meeting are as follows:

Space:
The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds – Christopher E. Mason
The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos – Christian Davenport

Inequality:
A Brief History of Equality – Thomas Piketty
Innovation + Equality: How to Create a Future That is More Star Trek Than Terminator – Joshua Gans & Andrew Leigh