Joy Zhang

Last week, the Centre for Global Science and Epistemic Justice (GSEJ) hosted ‘A New Odyssey for Public Engagement‘ at the British Academy. This small, invitation-only event brought together leading thinkers, science diplomacy experts, and scientists from four continents to explore how the O.D.E.SS.I. framework — Open, Deliberative, Enabling, Sensible and Sensitive, Innovative — can guide global practices of public dialogue on science.

I was absolutely intellectually spoiled by the event. It brought together everything I care about in my academic life — the ethics and diplomacy of science, the architecture of dialogue, and the social imagination that sustains curiosity.

My personal key takeaway is that, as we enter the UN’s International Decade of Science for Sustainable Development, we need a new form of curiosity-driven public engagement — one that underpins the social architecture of science by enabling long-term dialogue and epistemic socialisation.

A huge thank you to Mr. Shaofeng Hu (UNESCO) and Professor Françoise Baylis (Dalhousie University / President-Elect of the Royal Society of Canada) for their inspiring keynotes, which set the tone for the discussions and offered profound guidance for advancing the O.D.E.SS.I. framework.

You can take a look at the Final O.D.E.SS.I. London Programme and Attendee Profiles to see the breadth of voices that made this gathering so rich.

It was also a wonderful opportunity to have a mini Team Futuring reunion. Dr Liz Rylott, who couldn’t be with us in person, cleverly adapted our group photo — and she’s right, everyone really does have their own superpower! In fact, the very next day, some of us were straight back in the field, continuing our pendulum between reflection and practice.

🌍✨ Stay tuned for the full conference report, future O.D.E.SS.I. events, and insights from our growing global network. The odyssey has only just begun — and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come