Europe at a demographic crossroads

The Ithaca Demographic Forum is a high-level, interdisciplinary and policy-oriented initiative that places demographic change at the centre of strategic debate for Greece and Europe. Under the auspice off the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Athens, within the framework of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026, the forum will take place from 6-8 May 2026 on the island of Ithaca, bringing together population science, economics, social policy, public health and regional cohesion.

The Forum is designed to foster dialogue between science and policy, with a strong emphasis on long-term demographic scenarios and evidence-based decision-making—an approach that lies at the core of the work of IIASA, where interdisciplinary research is used to address complex, long-term societal challenges. By addressing demographic change as a structural driver of economic development, social sustainability and regional stability, the Forum aims to support strategic thinking beyond short-term political and economic cycles.

As one of the world’s leading demographers and a pioneer of long-term population and human capital analysis, IIASA Distinguished Emeritus Research Scholar Wolfgang Lutz will deliver a central contribution to the opening day of the forum “Greece and Europe to 2050: Data, Projections and Policy Challenges.” The presentation will focus on global and European demographic scenarios and their implications for economic development, human capital formation and long-term sustainability, helping to frame the strategic discussions that unfold throughout the Forum.

This session builds directly on decades of IIASA and Wittgenstein Centre research on population projections, education, ageing and systems analysis, which have played a central role in shaping Europe’s understanding of demographic change and its policy implications. The Forum also provides a valuable opportunity to introduce the work of the Yidan Prize-supported project at IIASA to European policymakers, highlighting how skills and learning shape long-term development—an increasingly important issue for ageing European societies. By going beyond population size to include human capital, this work provides a more comprehensive understanding of future workforce dynamics, productivity and social resilience.