On January 16th, SiDLab organized a lunch debate in Davos as part of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The event, titled “Integrating Science into Multilateral Diplomacy: Making it Happen,” brought together around forty participants from the academic world, philanthropy, the business community, diplomacy, and NGOs.
The Rector of the University of Geneva, Yves Flückiger, and the President of ETH Zurich, Joël Mesot, opened the session. Subsequently, the results already achieved in scientific diplomacy by the SiDLab were presented by Dr. Margua Gual Soler (GESDA), Prof. Andreas Wenger (ETH Zurich), and for UNIGE, Profs Bastien Chopard, Roland Bouffanais, and Jean-Luc Falcone.
Nicolas Levrat, wearing his dual hats as director of the GSI and rapporteur on minority issues at the UN, along with Swiss State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Alexandre Fasel, emphasized the importance for the development of multilateral diplomacy of this computational diplomacy.
With a full house (30 people were on the waiting list for this event), this lunch provided an opportunity for fruitful exchanges and innovative initiatives. The presentations and lively discussions led by these experts sparked keen interest and contributed to enriching our understanding of the challenges of computational diplomacy.
State Secretary Fasel concluded the session by stressing the importance of science in multilateral diplomacy, and the relevance of SiDLab activities in this context. The success of this event demonstrates the strategic positioning of the GSI and SiDLab in a significant evolution of international relations. Consequently, at the GSI, numerous doctoral works should be able to develop around the data and activities of SiDLab.