Building Bridges from Knowledge to Policy Formulation and Impact

Building Bridges from Knowledge to Policy Formulation and Impact: Mobilizing humanities expertise in a rapidly changing world.

The primary goal of the initiative is to bridge the "science-policy nexus" by ensuring that qualitative and contextual knowledge, often found in the humanities, is translated into actionable wisdom for global leaders.

This year-long global effort is rooted in a series of expert workshops and consultations taking place throughout the first half of 2026, hosted by BRIDGES and a consortium of partners, supported by the wider coalition and the BRIDGES global hubs.

The UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition is entering a transformative phase, moving toward sharper strategic definition and a more visible role in global policy, specifically within the MOST Intergovernmental Council (IGC).

These sessions will bring together academics, policymakers, and civil society leaders to bridge the gap between humanities-based knowledge and practical policy implementation. The consultations are leading to the development of a suite of "guiding instruments" to help UNESCO Member States apply humanities insights to policy formulation.

Co-design and Test 

Building on key recommendations generated at the BRIDGES-led side event ‘From Idea to Action and Impact: Mobilizing the Outcomes of the Summit of the Future’ (20 September 2024), vital work continues in the form of a series of activities and events organized in 2025-26 with partner organizations from the SOTF. This programme of activities will deliver a suite of instruments to the MOST Intergovernmental Council (IGC), including a policy framework, toolkit for policymakers and a manifesto.

The aim is to establish a coherent approach and shared tools to enable knowledge and expertise from the humanities, arts, educational sciences and local, traditional and Indigenous knowledge systems to be integrated in the science-policy interface on the most pressing 21st century challenges.

In 2025, several activities advanced the outcomes of the Summit of the Future. 

▪ A full-day Futures Lab held in March at the Learning Planet Institute brought together students and educators with a strong intergenerational focus. This event was co-organized by the BRIDGES Directorate, UNESCO Futures Literacy Team, BRIDGES Cologne Hub, and a BRIDGES Humanities Lab coordinated by the ASU Flagship Hub and G-FORCES, in collaboration with LPI and the School of International Futures. Read the outcome report of this Futures Lab: 'Reworlding Planetary Governance'.

▪ In June, many SOTF partners reconvened at the 3rd UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI, with side events co-organized by BRIDGES, the Vice Presidency of the MOST Intergovernmental Council, the Kingdom of Thailand (in partnership with the Republic of South Africa), Chulalongkorn University, ASU’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, The Club of Rome, World Academy of Art and Science, and Globethics.

▪ In 2026 a series of consultations, labs and workshops with diverse actors and communities will take place around the world to gather insights, cases and recommendations that can feed into the suite of instruments to be delivered to UNESCO Member States and the MOST IGC at Extraordinary Session of MOST in October.

UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES STRATEGY 2026-28.