IIASA Director General at the 2nd European Science Diplomacy Conference

Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing geopolitical and scientific-technological landscape, science diplomacy is playing an ever more important role in shaping Europe’s international engagement. Building on the expert report, A European Framework for Science Diplomacy – Recommendations of the EU Science Diplomacy Working Groups, released earlier this year, this conference will examine how science diplomacy can strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, foster innovation, and promote international cooperation under the theme, Bridging divides in a fragmented world.

The program will explore both regional and thematic dimensions, while also highlighting the crucial contributions of non-state actors. It will provide a platform for policymakers, scientists, diplomats, business, and civil society to engage in a dialogue on Europe’s role as a global science and technology leader, committed to peace, multilateralism, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The conference is organized by the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, in cooperation with the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences, the Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Aarhus University, and the Danish Council for Research and Innovation Policy. 

Confirmed speakers include inter alia former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, former Danish Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences, Lidia Brito, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Cardinal Turkson, the “father of the SDGs”, Macharia Kamau from Kenya, the former President of Iceland and Chair of the Arctic Council, Olafur Grimsson, the Deputy Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Joan Borrell, Vaughan Turekian from the US National Academy of Sciences, Sir Mark Walport from the Royal Society, Jeremy Farrar from the World Health Organization, and many more. In addition, the conference will also be attended by the science advisors in Foreign Ministries from all over the planet.

The conference will take place in hybrid format and is open to everybody interested in the advancement of science diplomacy. There is no conference fee.

Visit the conference website for further information.