Bring together science and diplomacy in one single world-class event, in Geneva: this was the objective of the GESDA Summit, which I organized twice in the name of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) Foundation, in October 2021 and 2022.
The 2022 GESDA SUMMIT
Rapidly evolving science breakthroughs will define the 21st Century. Diplomatic decision-makers must envision and develop reliable and resilient solutions for addressing the impact of science breakthroughs. With the future prosperity of society at stake, responsive and flexible diplomatic measures are the key to success. The GESDA Foundation’s annual gathering – the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation Summit, or GESDA Summit – fostered global multilateral action, taking into account the pace of science, the need to accelerate access for all to its benefits, and the impact of the international geopolitical situation.
With GESDA, Science and Diplomacy has a trusted environment and an honest broker. GESDA is working on that by forging new collaborative avenues for the science, diplomatic, impact and citizens communities, especially in a world that needs most people to be able to benefit from the advances of science. Complex issues, such as how AI could lead to better health, the policy development on organoids, whether to use geoengineering applications, and the evolution of cyber conflicts are impacting what it means to be human, how we interact with others, and the way we live on the planet.
From 12-14 October 2022, at Campus Biotech in Geneva, Switzerland, the 2022 GESDA Summit convened leading minds and influential figures and invite new voices to actively engage in GESDA’s growing set of activities to help advance global Science and Diplomacy together in an anticipatory, responsible, inclusive, and sustainable manner.
Among them were:
Ignazio Cassis, President of the Swiss Confederation; Anousheh Anzari, CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation; Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Singapore; Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Morocco; Lidia Brito, UNESCO; Tommaso Calarco, Forschungszentrum Jülich; Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International; Maria Cattaui, Open Society Foundations; David Chalmers, NY University; Martin Chungong, Interparliamentary Union; Martha Delgado Peralta, Undersecratary for Multilateral Affairs, Mexico; Jeremy Farrar, Wellcome Trust; Nathalie Fontanet, Conseillère d’Etat Genève; Fabiola Gianotti, CERN; Peter Gluckman, International Science Council; Arancha Gonzalez Laya, Science Po Paris School; Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs; Jim Snabe, Siemens; David Harel, Israel Academy of Sciences; Michael Hengartner, ETH Board; Andrew Hessel, Humane Genomics; Larry Hinzman, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Martin Hirayaman, Swiss Secretary of State for Research; André Hoffmann, Roche Holding; Yeadong Kim, SCAR; Pascal Lamy, Paris Peace Forum; Peter Maurer, ICRC; Rémi Quirion, INGSA; Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO; Urmas Reinsalu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Estonia; Eric Salobir, OPTIC; Jürgen Schmidhuber, NNAISENSE; Nikhil Seth, UNITAR; Amandeep Gil, UN; Soumya Swaminathan, WHO; Chorh Chuan Tan, Ministry of Health, Singapore; Matthias Troyer, Microsoft; Maryna Viazovska, EPFL; Gernot Wagner, Columbia Business School; Wayne Koff, Human Vaccines Project.
The Summit program encouraged consensus building and inspire participants to deliberate key issues, brainstorm on the impacts of emerging trends, and collaborate on creative avenues to meaningful action. Expanding on GESDA’s core methodology for convening science and diplomacy communities, this year’s program highlighted the momentum of anticipation in Science and Diplomacy through:
- 1. The yearly update of the GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar® – produced in partnership with the Foundation pour Genève and with 1000 scientists worldwide – presenting about 40 scientific emerging trends likely to become operational in 5, 10, 25 years. Science Anticipation sessions will bring participants current with an evolving set of breakthroughs presented in the 2022 Edition of the GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar®. This portion of the program puts the finger on the pulse of the scientific future, with sessions that address the most pressing issues of the updated Radar®. Included are noteworthy topics such as augmented and virtual reality, organoids, geoengineering, and the digitization of conflicts.
- 2. GESDA’s Pipeline of Solution Ideas – first prototypes of possible avenues of actions to accelerate the use of emerging trends such as quantum computing for sustainable development, neurotechnology, decarbonisation and science & diplomacy. GESDA’s Solution Ideas and related Initiatives lay the groundwork for open and accessible benefits from science. Based on issues taken from the GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar® over the last two years, these sessions addressed key areas where the world needs preparation for the impact of transformative science. The Summit introduced a broader audience to the following pipeline of Solution Ideas:
- Open Quantum Institute / Delivering co-development and equitable access to quantum computing technologies.
- Global Science & Diplomacy Curriculum / Coalescing Swiss and global actors interested in Anticipatory Science and Diplomacy.
- NeuroTech Compass / Preparing stakeholders for the impact of digital technologies connected to the brain.
- Decarbonisation Accelerator / Convening stakeholders and implementing concrete actions to accelerate decarbonisation.
- 3. A preliminary assessment by political authorities present at the Summit on whether and how these trends and actions could be politically endorsed and furthered at global diplomatic level. High-Level support from the diplomatic community is at the heart of GESDA’s capacity to drive change. The 2022 Summit showcased the essential support of the Swiss Government and the Canton of Geneva, as well as invite the political leaders fostering anticipatory science and diplomacy at a global scale.
- 4. The need for the set-up of innovative Impact Funding instruments to provide the resources necessary to incubate and implement the proposed Solution Ideas and related initiatives.
2022 YOUTH COHORT
The 2022 GESDA Summit also gave an important place to young aspiring leaders, who attended the event and shared their thoughts about what they hear, learn and reflect upon during the sessions. They were asked to share their views on the future of Science and Diplomacy and on GESDA’s efforts and vision. Some of the young leaders have been invited by the SwissNex network of Swiss scientific consulates across the world. Joining them in Geneva were three finalists selected from the competition organized by the Youth and Anticipation Initiative – jointly implemented by the University of Cape Town’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, and GESDA. Additionally, three students attended from Swiss secondary schools, nominated by the Villars Institute and its Villars Fellows program.
2022 GESDA PARTNER EXCURSIONS
Partner organizations, such as CERN, the Graduate Institute Geneva, the United Nations, and XPRIZE will contribute to the program, and there will be open public forum opportunities for participation. On the final day of the Summit, all participants will be invited to take part in one of the following side-events:
- visit CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, one of the global flagship examples of successful science diplomacy.
- visit the United Nations Office at Geneva headquarters
- attend the FIRST Global Challenge in science and technology for young innovator2022
2022 GESDA SUMMIT
This year, Summit participants have been given the opportunity to:
▶ Exchange views with the political authorities in charge of multilateralism in Switzerland and abroad;
▶ Engage in cross-cutting conversation with peers on essential domains of future diplomacy action;
▶ Convene and hear from the world’s leading experts in various fields of interest;
▶ Share experiences onsite with robotics, neurotech, VR/AR, and interactive displays and sessions.
–> The full program of the 2022 GESDA Summit
–> The Proceedings of the 2022 GESDA Summit
–> The full program of the 2021 GESDA Summit
–> The Proceedings of the 2021 GESDA Summit
My role in the organisation of this event:
- Curate the program for the GESDA Summit, inviting 100+ high-level scientists and decision makers
- Lead the organisation team for the event
- Manage of the budget
- Editorial lead and management of the GESDA Summit Proceedings
