Planetary Health in a Polycrisis Era Conference

We are living in an era of polycrisis.

Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, widening inequalities, technological disruption, demographic transitions, and economic uncertainty are no longer isolated challenges. They interact, reinforce one another, and generate cascading effects that transcend national borders and disciplinary boundaries.

Planetary health has therefore become more than an environmental concern. It has become a question of human security, social resilience, governance, and the future of life itself.

Addressing these interconnected crises requires new ways of understanding the world—not only through scientific discovery and technological innovation, but also through deeper insights into societies, institutions, cultures, values, and the ways people live together.

This conference begins with a simple but urgent question:

How can humanity navigate a polycrisis world while creating healthier, more just, and sustainable futures?

WHY KNOWLEDGE MATTERS
No single way of knowing is enough for a polycrisis world.

The defining challenges of our time cannot be solved by scientific discovery alone, nor by technological innovation, public policy, or social action in isolation.

Scientific breakthroughs do not automatically transform societies.

Technologies do not become public solutions without trust, institutions, and governance.

Policies do not succeed without understanding the cultures, histories, values, and lived realities of the people they are intended to serve.

Responding to a polycrisis therefore requires more than interdisciplinary collaboration—it requires the ability to connect different ways of knowing.

This conference welcomes knowledge in all its forms: discoveries from the natural sciences, insights from the social sciences and humanities, innovations in engineering and technology, evidence from public policy and professional practice, lived experiences of communities, and the wisdom of local and Indigenous knowledge systems.

A polycrisis is not only a crisis of climate, health, economy, or governance—it is also a crisis of knowledge. It challenges us to reconsider whose knowledge counts, how knowledge is produced, and how diverse forms of knowing can work together to inform collective action. This conference is an invitation to build that dialogue by bringing scientific knowledge into conversation with social inquiry, the humanities, local wisdom, Indigenous knowledge, professional practice, and lived experience.

FOUR GRAND QUESTIONS FOR A POLYCRISIS WORLD

Rather than organizing the conference around traditional academic disciplines, we begin with four fundamental questions that humanity must confront.

Each conference theme represents one of these questions, while individual keynote lectures, panels, and paper sessions explore different dimensions of possible answers.

Together, they form a coherent intellectual journey—from understanding planetary crises to rethinking how knowledge itself should be produced.

Conference themes

1. One Health and Planetary Health between Geo-politics and Science-Policy Interface

2. Governing Sustainable Futures (governance of societal transformation)

3. Future of Life in Planetary Age

4. Methodological Frontiers for Knowledge System, Policy, and Social Innovation

FROM QUESTIONS TO DIALOGUE

Every keynote lecture, panel discussion, paper presentation, and roundtable is designed to contribute to one of these four Grand Questions.

Rather than presenting isolated research topics, the conference encourages participants to connect diverse perspectives, disciplines, and experiences in order to generate new understandings and practical responses to shared global challenges.

The conference welcomes contributions from scholars, policymakers, practitioners, civil society organizations, community researchers, and international partners who seek to bridge scientific knowledge with social action.

KEYNOTE CONVERSATIONS

The keynote sessions bring together internationally recognized scholars and thought leaders whose work has shaped global debates in sociology, planetary health, governance, and public policy.

Their perspectives provide the intellectual foundation for the conference and inspire dialogue across disciplines, sectors, and regions, connecting global challenges with local realities and future-oriented solutions.

FROM KNOWLEDGE TO ACTION

This conference is not intended to end with the closing session.

It serves as a platform for building long-term international collaboration among universities, governments, international organizations, civil society, and community networks.