The 2026 edition of Trieste Next will host a TWAS-IAP–OWSD round table titled ‘Networks as Channels of Scientific Diplomacy’. The event will bring together four strong voices from the world of science policy to discuss how scientific networks build trust and foster cooperation across boundaries.
The round table will feature four distinguished panellists:
- Lamberto Maria Moruzzi, vice director general for growth and export promotion, director for scientific, space and sports diplomacy, directorate-general for economic cooperation, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation;
- Samiya Abi Jaoude, a neurosurgeon at the Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital in Paris, specialising in skull base tumours, vascular neurosurgery and cerebrospinal fluid disorders;
- Kleinsy Bonilla, a Guatemalan researcher and consultant in development economics and science diplomacy, and a visiting scholar at the University of the Valley of Guatemala‘s Economic Development Observatory; and
- Marcelo Knobel, TWAS executive director since December 2024, a renowned physicist and science advocate, and former rector of the University of Campinas in Brazil from 2017 to 2021.
Hon. Minister Plenipotentiary Lamberto M. Moruzzi, vice director general for growth and export promotion, director for scientific, space and sports diplomacy, directorate-general for economic cooperation, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy. (Photo: G. Ortolani/TWAS)
Particular attention will be given to the contribution of researchers from the global South and women scientists, whose growing participation is making international scientific collaboration is an inspirational instance of the power of inclusivity.
The round table will take place on Friday 25 September, at Area Talk 2 in Piazza Unità d’Italia, from 18:00 until 19:15. Free registration here.
Planting Water photographic essay and TWAS photographs
A unique event organized by TWAS will further enrich the 2026 edition of Trieste Next. The exhibition of the winning essay from the first edition of the international award Through Southern Lenses: Science in Focus and a selection of photographs from the TWAS archives will open in Trieste at the Civic Art Gallery (Piazza Unità d’Italia, 4, Trieste), from 26 September to 8 October with the following visiting hours: 26 Sept. 14:00-22:00; 27 Sept. 10:00-20:00; 28 Sept. – 8 Oct. 10:00-13:00 and 17:00-20:00.
Through Southern Lenses: Science in Focus is an annual international photography award that celebrates scientific excellence across the developing world through the power of photography. The initiative is a collaboration between the Conrado Wessel Foundation and TWAS, which is a programme unit of UNESCO based in Trieste, Italy, dedicated to advancing scientific capacity and excellence in the global South.
From left: Carlos Vogt, President of the Conrado Wessel Foundation; Musuku Nolte, winner of the inaugural edition of the Through Southern Lenses: Science in Focus competition; and TWAS Executive Director Marcelo Knobel. (Photo: G. Ortolani/TWAS)
Musuk Nolte’s Planting Water follows communities in the Peruvian Andes whose ancestral practices have enabled them to “plant” water by restoring ancient hydraulic systems and working with the landscape rather than against it. His photographs reveal that environmental understanding is preserved not only through scientific inquiry but through memory, tradition, and lived experience.
The award highlights scientific achievements, challenges, and human stories from developing countries, using photography as a powerful tool for science communication that transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries.
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