Montpellier Global Days 2024: Science Takes Action for Tomorrow
The 2024 edition of Montpellier Global Days will once again bring together the scientific community from March 18 to 20 at the Corum in Montpellier under the theme“Pooling collective intelligence for action.” Launched in 2021, The Montpellier Process is led by the University of Montpellier, its partners in the I-site program of excellence, and CGIAR. As a prelude to this event, on March 18 at 6:30 p.m., Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Secretary General of the Club of Rome—an international think tank known for its famous “Meadows Report”—will deliver a lecture open to the general public titled “From Alarm to Saving the Planet: Science Takes Action.”
Food systems: a driver of sustainable development
Over the course of two days, three hundred experts, scientists, and decision-makers from sixty countries will have the opportunity to discuss, exchange ideas, and reflect in order to align their roadmaps with the challenges of tomorrow, as embodied in the three pillars of the I-site label of excellence: “feed, care for, and protect.” The goal is to develop an action plan that is as urgent as it is necessary. This event also provides an opportunity to mobilize political and academic stakeholders from a broad scientific ecosystem in collaboration with international institutions, notably featuring the participation of Michaël Delafosse, president of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole.
The goal of the 2024 Montpellier Global Days is to foster the creation of a collaborative framework that enables leading international experts and representatives of intergovernmental organizations to collectively address the many interrelated challenges facing agriculture, food, the environment, and health. The focus will be primarily on transforming food systems as a lever for sustainable development, while strengthening the interactions between science, policy, and civil society.
Lecture by the Secretary-General of the Club of Rome
As a prelude to the event, on March 18, 2024, a public conference (free with registration) titled “From Alarm to Saving the Planet: Science Takes Action” will feature numerous distinguished guests, including Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Secretary General of the Club of Rome, an international think tank that pioneered thinking on sustainable development and is known for its famous “Meadows Report.” This is an opportunity to highlight the drive for action that animates the scientific community and to explore the many interactions—both synergies and obstacles—between scientific experts and policymakers at the local, national, and international levels. The topics covered are wide-ranging: food, health, biodiversity, sustainable development, science-policy interfaces…
Highlights of the Montpellier Global Days 2024 program
The Montpellier Process: Harnessing Collective Intelligence for Action
- Monday, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the Einstein Auditorium (Corum):
Public lecture titled “From Warning to Saving the Planet: Science Takes Action,” featuring Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Secretary General of the Club of Rome. Also featuring remarks by Michaël Delafosse, President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole; Ruy López Ridaura, Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Health (via video); Gerda Verburg, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and former Minister of Agriculture of the Netherlands (2007–2010); Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann, Chair of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security (HLPE-FSN) of the UN Committee on World Food Security, Elisabeth Claverie de Saint Martin, CEO of CIRAD, Sandra Diaz, professor at the University of Córdoba (Argentina), Heide Hackmann, professor at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), Thomas Mettenleiter, co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on “One Health,” Philippe Augé, president of the University of Montpellier, and Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, chair of the CGIAR Board of Directors. (detailed program)
- Tuesday, March 19, at 9 a.m. in the Pasteur Auditorium (Corum):
Official opening attended by Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier; Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chair of the CGIAR Board of Directors; Michaël Delafosse, President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole; and Jalil Benabdillah, Vice President for the Economy, Employment, Innovation, and Reindustrialization for the Occitanie Region
- Wednesday, March 20, at 4:05 p.m. in the Pasteur Auditorium (Corum):
Presentation of the action plan “Refining the expert panels and science-policy interface joint message and ambition narrative: toward the 2024–2033 UN Decade of Science for Sustainable Development” by Patrick Caron (University of Montpellier, CIRAD) and Fabrice DeClerck (CGIAR)
- Wednesday, March 20, at 4:35 p.m. in the Pasteur Auditorium (Corum):
Summary and Commitments by François Pierrot, Vice President for International Relations at the University of Montpellier, and Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Director of CGIAR
Please let us know in advance if you would like to attend the public conference, the official opening, or the closing ceremony. We are, of course, available to assist with any interview requests or additional information.
A press kit will also be available for download on the day of the launch of Montpellier Global Days 2024.