Integrating Science into Multilateral Diplomacy: Making it Happen

Addressing most global challenges requires cooperation and innovative governance while dealing with the rising complexity of diplomatic negotiations in a multipolar world. Many actors and initiatives, such as the Geneva-based foundation external page GESDA (Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator) are active in this field.

This session seeks to highlight an initiative that significantly contributes to the progress of Science Diplomacy. Established in 2021 by ETH Zurich and the University of Geneva, the external page Science in Diplomacy Lab (SiDLab) brings scientific insights and methods from both social and computational science into diplomatic, international conflict resolution to address the global challenges our societies are facing.

The SiDLab emphasizes the pivotal role played by leading universities in advancing this agenda and how they can actively support its implementation through a three-pronged approach: carrying out cutting-edge research, innovating with interdisciplinary educational curricula as early as at the bachelor level, and all this along with anchoring its activity in multilateral values such as data open-access.