At the request of the President of Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog, the President of the Israel Academy,
Prof. David Harel, participated in the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation (GESDA) summit held in Geneva on October 12–14, 2022. Prof. Harel spoke in a session entitled “How Can We Prepare for Collaborative Human-Machine Intelligence?”
During the conference, Prof. Harel met briefly with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis. The two discussed the importance of scientific relations between the two countries.
On the initiative of Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar , Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, Prof. Harel also met with the Minister of State for Public Education and Future Technology of the United Arab Emirates, Sarah Al Amiri. Ambassador Eilon Shahar and Mr. Zvi Aviner Vapni, Senior Political Advisor to President Herzog, also participated in the meeting. Minister Al Amiri reported on the formation of a body intended to become the national academy of sciences of the UAE. The nascent organization currently has 40 scholarly members. Prof. Harel shared his experiences and described the structure of the Israel Academy. The minister thanked Prof. Harel for the opportunity to learn about the activities of the Israeli Academy. Discussions will continue in the coming months.
The two sides agreed upon the importance of cultivating relations between the academies of Israel and the UAE and of developing scientific collaborations between them in the future.
Academy President Prof. David Harel at the conference in Geneva. Photo: Benedikt v. Loebell