KIP and GESDA sign MoU to advance collaboration around philosophy, science anticipation, and diplomacy

GESDA is an independent foundation established in 2019 by the Swiss Confederation together with Geneva Governments. Its purpose is to build an instrument for anticipation and action by advancing international public–private partnerships and projects that can provide solutions to present and future technological challenges, convert those challenges into opportunities, and broaden access to the benefits of scientific and technological progress.

Drawing on KIP’s concept of a Multilayered Society of Values and GESDA’s Planetarised Humanity framework, the two organizations agreed to jointly seek “a more powerful connection between scientific discovery, philosophical analysis, and its impact on the human condition and social coexistence.” Collaboration areas include sharing networks and expertise, identifying strategic alignments between the two organizations, and informing potential new focus areas through regular consultations and joint planning.

The signing ceremony for this MoU took place in Kyoto following the close of the inaugural Kyoto Conference, held over 23–24 September 2025. From GESDA, Stéphane Decoutère (Member and Secretary General of the Board of Directors), Anton Rupert (Member of the Board of Directors), Martin Müller (Executive Director Science Anticipator) and Manuel Gustavo Isaac (Program Lead, Science Anticipation Philosophy) participated in the Conference, contributing to panel and roundtable sessions that, from multiple perspectives, probed the importance of a values-centred philosophical approach alongside an anticipatory stance towards science and technology. After the ceremony, the two institutions discussed next steps towards more concrete avenues of collaboration.