Outcome documents of The World Conference on Science and Art for Sustainability

We’re delighted to share outcome documents of the The World Conference on Science and Art for Sustainability, which took place on 22-24 September 2025, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Belgrade, Serbia, with BRIDGES as a co-sponsoring partner.

The World Conference on Science and Art for Sustainability is the first conference within the Earth Humanity Coalition (EHC)-World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) Program and one of the flagship events within the overall program of International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD).

On August 25, 2023, the UN General Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD), from 2024 to 2033. The integral goal of IDSSD is to significantly contribute to tracing the pathways towards regeneration and sustainability of nature and society as well as human security and peace.

The shared documents are as follows: World Conference on Science and Art for Sustainability Report; Interviews; and Belgrade Declaration on Science and Art for Sustainability

We first draw attention to both the Belgrade Declaration, of which follows a brief summary, and the Report, which was prepared by WAAS.  Also of great interest are the Interviews exploring perspectives on global challenges and the role of science and art, prepared by Vesna de Vinča, a journalist, writer and producer from Belgrade. 

The Belgrade Declaration

Written by Michel Spiro, from The Earth-Humanity Coalition, Garry Jacobs and Nebojša Nešković, from WAAS and The Club of Rome, Paul Shrivastava and Carlos Álvarez Pereira, from The Club of Rome, and Steven Hartman, from the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition. 

The conference addressed existential problems facing the Earth and humanity, including resource depletion, pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, autocracy, corruption, conflicts, and wars. The Declaration comprises statements focusing on four key areas: complex and multiple disciplinary challenges; the direct cooperation of science and art; specific contributions of science, art, and education; and support for science, art, and education.

The Declaration calls for a radical shift in how global crises are addressed, urging the integration of scientific, artistic, and traditional knowledge to overcome the "deep polycrisis" facing humanity.

Core Recommendations 

• Integrated Solutions for a "Polycrisis": Existential challenges like climate change, resource depletion, and geopolitical instability are complex and mutually reinforcing. Solving them requires moving beyond academic "disciplinary siloes" to embrace wholistic, systemic, and transdisciplinary syntheses.
• Planetary Peace and Development Paradigm Shift: A precondition for addressing global challenges is "planetary peace," encompassing peace within oneself, with others, and with nature. This necessitates a transformation of economic systems, particularly by reducing the dependency on "an outdated development paradigm based on growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) at all costs".
• Union of Science and Art: Science and art must develop as "two interconnected and complementary frames of inquiry" to achieve a more complete understanding of the universe and human motivations. Art is essential for communication, appreciating the beauty of the world, and converting dissatisfaction into "creative generation of ideas and solutions".
• Focus on Public Interest and Global South: New social models should be developed that prioritize "serving public interests" over corporate and government interests. The Declaration stresses that global considerations of human dignity and security, currently concentrated on the Global North, must give "equal attention" to the Global South.

The core message is that achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Human Security Dimensions (HSDs) requires a systemic, transdisciplinary approach that unifies scientific rigor, artistic insight, and traditional local knowledge.  

• Call for Trust and Action: Scientists and artists should forge new relationships with policy-makers and stakeholders based on "sincere mutual respect and trust" to ensure that science and art are driven by societally relevant problems and serve the public interest globally (North and South).
  
• Breaking "Disciplinary Silos": The report concludes that global challenges are failing to be solved because science is limited by "disciplinary siloes." Solutions must move towards transdisciplinary syntheses that integrate all fields of knowledge, including art, to address complex, interconnected problems.  

All outcome documents can be read in full on the BRIDGES website here.