Posted in BRIDGES IPO news, News on Oct 28, 2026.
BANGKOK, THAILAND - Chulalongkorn University is set to host a major international conference addressing the urgent intersections of planetary health, human security, and sustainable governance.
Running from October 30–31, 2026, the conference - Planetary Health in a Polycrisis Era: Sociological Pathways to Human Security, Healthy Living, and Sustainable Governance - brings together scholars, policymakers, civil society leaders, and community researchers from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. Co-organised by Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), Chulalongkorn University's Institute of Asian Studies and Faculty of Political Science, the Asia Pacific Sociological Association (APSA), and national partners, the event confronts the realities of a world grappling with extreme climate variability, biodiversity loss, resource constraints, and geopolitical instability.
At the gathering is a keynote address by Prof. Dr. Steven Hartman, Founding Executive Director of the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition. Titled "Innovating the Science-Policy Nexus in an Age of Great Consequence," his address introduces the recently published manifesto, "A Time of Great Consequence: A Manifesto for Bridging Knowledge and Action"
The manifesto - originated through extensive international consultations led by the BRIDGES Coalition within UNESCO’s Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme - was officially launched in Paris during MOST Social Transformations Week. It issues a timely call to renew the relationship between collective knowledge and practical action capacities. By championing resilient social and ecological systems reinforced by learning institutions, the manifesto establishes a roadmap for translating theory and civil society insights into ground-level execution across local, national, and regional contexts.
The two-day conference is structured around four core themes designed to mobilise sociology and interdisciplinary frameworks in response to the polycrisis:
One Health and Planetary Health between Geopolitics and the Science–Policy Interface
Governing Sustainable Futures (Governance of Societal Transformation)
Future of Life in the Planetary Age
Methodological Frontiers for Knowledge Systems, Policy, and Social Innovation
By emphasising Open Science principles, such as data sharing, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the integration of local and community knowledge, the conference aims to construct a participatory interface where science, policy, and society intersect to co-create sustainable futures.
Registration and information can be accessed here.
