Planetary Summit Agenda

Friday, November 22nd

PALE FLUO DOT
Marking the ceremonial opening of the Planetary Summit, PALE FLUO DOT is an immersive audio-visual experience. The performance by Amnesia Scanner and installation by Jenna Sutela is presented by LAS Art Foundation in collaboration with Future Humans of the Berggruen Institute.

Saturday, November 23rd

Establishing the Category of the Planetary
Ontological Discussions, Epistemological Debates, and Considerations of the Extra-Human & Extra-Planetary

WELCOME & OPENING PLENARY

Why the Planetary?
Opening remarks from Nicolas Berggruen, Berggruen Institute Co-Founder
Plenary presentation by Nils Gilman, Berggruen Institute Chief Operating Officer & co-author of Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises

SESSION ONE

Establishing the Category of the Planetary
An ontological discussion exploring what is a planet, what does the word Planetary mean?

Featured Speakers:
• Jonathan Blake, Associate Director, Planetary at the Berggruen Institute; co-author of Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises
• Risa Wechsler, Director, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Professor of Physics, Particle Physics, Astrophysics, Stanford University
• Christine J Winter (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa), Senior Lecturer, Tōrakapū, Politics, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, University of Otago
• Ngaire Woods, Founding Dean, Blavatnik School of Government, Professor, Global Economic Governance, Oxford University

LIGHTNING TALK

Adam Frank
Inaugural Berggruen Prize Essay Competition Winner
Professor of astrophysics, science commentator, and author

SESSION TWO

Extra-Human & Extra-Planetary
A series of paired discussions between scientists and philosophers exploring possible inter-species politics and an allocentric reconsideration of (earthly) planetary life.

Featured Speakers:
• Bing Song, Senior Vice President, Berggruen Institute and Director, Berggruen Institute China Center
• Claire Webb, Associate Director, Future Humans at the Berggruen Institute
• Michael Wong, Sagan Fellow, NASA Hubble Fellowship Program
• Juichi Yamagiwa, Director-General, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature

LIGHTNING TALK

Stewart Patrick
Director of the Global Order and Institutions Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Expert in the history and practice of multilateralism

SESSION THREE

Planetary Sapience
An epistemological discussion to define new categories of knowing and the manner by which the Planetary is revealed through technology and human thought.

Featured Speakers:
• Benjamin Bratton, Director, Antikythera at the Berggruen Institute, Professor, UC San Diego
• Lukáš Likavčan, Researcher, Antikythera at the Berggruen Institute, Affiliate Researcher, Centre for AI & Culture, NYU Shanghai
• Thomas Moynihan, Researcher, Antikythera at the Berggruen Institute, Research Affiliate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Cambridge University

Sunday, November 24th

What is Planetary Realism?
Mapping the Limitations of Nation States & Global Governance, Opening up Possibilities & Exploring the Application of New Mechanisms

OPENING PLENARY

Plenary presentation by Nathan Gardels, Berggruen Institute Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Noema Magazine

SESSION FOUR

The Limits of Current Planetary Governance
If not nation-states and global governance, then what? What are the required specs for Planetary governance? What might we achieve if we were successful?

Featured Speakers:
• Frank Biermann, Professor, Global Sustainability Governance at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University
• Pascal Lamy, Vice-President, Paris Peace Forum, Coordinator, Jacques Delors Think Tanks
• Niccolo Milanese, Fellow, Berggruen Institute Europe, Founding Director, European Alternatives
• Minh-Thu Pham, A political and policy entrepreneur, nonprofit leader, and activist
• Stephanie Sherman, Associate Director, Antikythera at the Berggruen Institute, Course Director, MA Narrative Environments, Central Saint Martins

LIGHTNING TALK

Kalypso Nicolaidis
Chair of Global Affairs at the EUI School of Transnational Governance, EUI Democracy Forum Convener

SESSION FIVE

New Ideas for Planetary Governance
A mini marathon of lightning talks opening up possibilities for new mechanisms of governance.

Featured Speakers:
• Rosi Braidotti, Philosopher, Distinguished Professor Emerita at Utrecht; Honorary Professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
• Rana Dasgupta, Novelist & Essayist, Author of After Nations (2025)
• Zhao Tingyang, Professor, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Senior Fellow, Peking University Berggruen Research Institute
• Lorenzo Marsili, Director, Berggruen Institute Europe

LIGHTNING TALK

Robert Hertzberg
Former Speaker of the California State Assembly and Majority Leader of the California State Senate, Clean Energy Entrepreneur, Sub-national relationship Expert

SESSION SIX

Planetary Pragmatism
A series of mini dialogues exploring the protocols & institutions through which we can apply Planetary mechanisms.

Featured Speakers:
• Holly Jean Buck, Assistant Professor, Department of Environment and Sustainability, University at Buffalo
• Aaron Maniam, Fellow of Practice and Director, Digital Transformation Education, Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University
• Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London
• Dawn Nakagawa, President, Berggruen Institute
• Venkatesh Rao, Writer & Consultant, Founder, Ribbonfarm Consulting
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America Think Tank, Former Director, Policy Planning, U.S. State Department