On the 25th of January, 2023, a seminar was held at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission, the nerve centre of European research policy. It was organised by the UNTRAD* Presidency of the European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance, in association with the European Commission, EUTOPIA, and the Norway-EU Science Diplomacy Network.
The general idea of the seminar was to assess the present state of the art of science diplomacy in Europe from three perspectives.
- Thinking Science Diplomacy, examined the status of science diplomacy as an academic endeavour. How are established scientific disciplines coping with the concept and practice of science diplomacy? Is there an academic field in the making? Is there a theory of science diplomacy in the making?
- Debating Science Diplomacy, unpacked the question of how science diplomacy is affected by societal and geopolitical challenges, the shifting nature of diplomacy, and the place of science in preserving the global commons. The question of scientific scepticism was also addressed.
- Shaping Science Diplomacy, focused on how to shape a future for science diplomacy in Europe.
The Alliance is proud to publish the Seminar Report “Thinking, Debating, and Shaping Science Diplomacy” on our website. Get to read the report here in our library.
*UNTRAD is the Unit on Non-Traditional Diplomacy, a joint entity of the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) and the Brussels School of Governance of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BSoG), which held the presidency of the EU Science Diplomacy Alliance from July – December 2022
