Leaders and advisers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis gathered this week to rethink how science can respond to consequential challenges that demand international cooperation, even as the institutions and political relationships needed to support that cooperation come under increasing strain.

Prof. Itai Sened, Archimedes Center's director, participated in the second panel discussion, From Science to Policy: Pathways for Impact, alongside Prof. John Schellnhuber, Prof. Miranda Schreurs, Prof. Christian Köberl and Dr. Debra Knopman.

The two-day IIASA Interaction Festival 2026 centered on the first day on collectively rethinking IIASA’s strategic direction in light of a profoundly transformed global context. On the second day, the festival offered panel discussions and a lecture with Argentine ecologist and professor Sandra Diaz, exploring how concepts, metrics and values of biodiversity develop within a context of social narratives that evolve as societies change.

Impressions written by Lisa Palmer of IIASA and published originally at The Science Diplomat.

Read more about the IIASA Interaction Festival 2026 on the IIASA website >