For the tenth time, the European Research Council (ERC) will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, from 16 to 20 January, to bring science to the discussions. ERC President Prof. Maria Leptin will speak in several sessions, of which two are live-streamed, on the state of the pandemic and on science collaboration. Stellar ERC-funded researchers - Professors Johan Rockström, Joyeeta Gupta, Martin Vetteri as well as Anna Fontcuberta and Jonathan Home - also share their latest scientific insights.
The theme of this year’s gathering is “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”.
For the first time, science will take centre stage in a WEF high-level plenary session. In this live-streamed session on climate change with with Al Gore and others, Johan Rockström and Joyeeta Gupta will deliver a preview of groundbreaking science of an Earth Commission report, which outlines newly quantified ‘Earth System Boundaries’ designed to safeguard a stable and resilient planet and underpin the setting of science-based targets for businesses, cities and governments.
Anna Fontcuberta and Jonathan Home speak on “Getting Ready for Quantum Computing” on Tuesday 17 January.
Live streamed sessions:
Wednesday 18 January
9:00 - 9:45 CET | State of the pandemic
How can the world shift its COVID-19 strategy from pandemic response to endemic management and close the persistent gaps in access to diagnostics, therapeutics, and health services?
Speakers:
Maria Leptin
ERC President
Stéphane Bancel
Chief Executive Officer, Moderna
Seth Berkley
CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine alliance.
Michelle Williams
Dean of the Faculty, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Moderator:
Sasha Vakulina
Euronews
14:00 - 15:00 CET | Leading the Charge through Earth's New Normal
The world is undergoing interacting crises in food, energy, health and nature that are threatening our way of life and accelerating us towards a global catastrophe. What visionary leadership is needed for systems thinking, transformative solutions and global collaboration to build a more inclusive, prosperous and sustainable future?
ERC grantees speaking:
Johan Rockström
Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research - ERC grantee
Joyeeta Gupta
Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South, University of Amsterdam - ERC grantee
Other speakers:
Al Gore, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, Marc Benioff, Andrew Forrest, Fawn Sharp, Yo-Yo Ma, Gim Huay Neo
Friday 20 January
9:00 - 9:45 CET | Doubling down on science
From a breakthrough in nuclear energy fusion to the discovery of exotic particles using the particle accelerator, finding solutions to the world’s biggest challenges requires collaboration across borders, cultures and disciplines. What approaches hold the greatest promise for effective science collaboration?
Speakers:
Maria Leptin
ERC President
Kimberly Budil
Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA
Adolf Faustine Mkenda
Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Tanzania
Amiram Appelbaum
Chairman Israel Innovation Authority
Tolu Oni
Director, Global Diet and Activity Research Group and Network, MRC Epidemiology and Chair at Innovation Africa, University of Pretoria and an Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town.
Moderator:
Megan Palmer
Executive Director, Bio Policy and Leadership Initiatives; Adjunct Professor, Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University
Follow the ERC activities at the Davos summit on Twitter.
Media Contact: Madeleine Drielsma, Press Adviser to ERC President
ERC-press@ec.europa.eu