Posted in News on Nov 04, 2026.
Leaders, scientists, policymakers, and civil society delegates are gathering in Antalya, Türkiye for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31). In the lead-up to this year’s COP, the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES coalition, together with key partners the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University and The Club of Rome, have issued an urgent call to action.
Grounded in the collaborative framework,“A Time of Great Consequence: A Manifesto for Bridging Knowledge and Action”, these partners and scores of institutions from around the world are urging a fundamental reorientation of how humanity produces knowledge, deliberates across differences, and collaborates in the face of unprecedented planetary transformation.
UNESCO, BRIDGES, and lead partner Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory are leading a side event in the Blue Zone at COP31 that delves into the manifesto’s ambitions to co-produce and apply insights confluently across the full range of knowledge domains. This event will also address how diverse insights can be translated into practical approaches connecting science, policy and action on the ground in support of climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience at different scales.
The manifesto is the first in a suite of instruments being introduced in 2026-27 within UNESCO’s intergovernmental Management of Social Transformations (MOST) programme, including a transdisciplinary policy framework and a flexible implementation toolkit that takes geographical, cultural, social, political and economic differences into account in its design. Focusing on building bridges between knowledge and action, these instruments aim to build from theory and the collective insights of civil society, academia and the policymaking community into actionable steps for implementation on the ground in diverse local, national and regional contexts.
The event will take place on 12 November, 11am-12.15 (GMT + 3) at the COP31 Global Futures Laboratory Pavilion, in the Blue Zone of the Antalya Expo Centre. "A Time of Great Consequence: Bridging Knowledge Systems and Collective Action in a Time of Planetary Transformation" brings together leading voices to explore how integrating the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, the arts and traditional and Indigenous knowledge can break down silos and generate innovative approaches to global, regional, national and local governance.
Denise Pires De Carvalho, Assistant Director General of Sciences, UNESCO
Peter Schlosser, University Vice President and Director General, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, ASU
Amanda Ellis (Moderator), Former Ambassador of New Zealand to the United Nations, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships for ASU’s JAW GFL and Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific ASU Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation
Steven Hartman, Founding Executive Director, UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition, JAW GFL, ASU
Iveta Silova, Professor and Associate Dean of Global Engagement at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, ASU
Luci Attala, Deputy Executive Director, BRIDGES International Programme Office, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
https://specialevents.asu.edu/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=899586&
This special session takes place within the official United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Antalya Expo Centre, Türkiye. Attendance requires prior registration and a COP31 Blue Zone badge.
For further details on this side event, visit the event listing.
Read A Time of Great Consequence: A Manifesto for Bridging Knowledge and Action
