On 4 November 2026 in Singapore, GESDA and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), committing to work together to embed science anticipation in leadership development, and to build a community of young leaders across Asia and Europe equipped for the challenges of the future.
“In today’s fast-evolving world, we need a new generation of leaders in politics, business, science and diplomacy who can anticipate developments and emerging trends, and adapt and innovate accordingly,” said Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy and GESDA Board member.
Mr Letta delivered a lecture on Anticipatory Leadership, as part of the ASEF Lecture Series. Opening the event, ASEF Executive Director Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska highlighted how rapid advances in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum technology and climate science are reshaping economies, societies and international relations. These advances, she said, call for deeper dialogue between scientific communities, policymakers, business and wider society.
A panel moderated by ASEF’s Réka Tózsa, Director of ASEF’s Education Department, brought together Chris Leck, Group Chief Technology Officer at Singapore’s Public Sector Science & Technology Policy and Plans Office, and Marga Gual Soler, Executive Director of Capacity and Leadership at GESDA. Together they explored how Asia and Europe can strengthen collaboration in science diplomacy and anticipatory governance across national and disciplinary boundaries.
“The GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar anticipates the science that will emerge 5, 10 and 25 years from today. But there is no textbook for governing technologies that don’t exist yet. So we rehearse the future: we simulate the dilemmas of quantum, neurotechnology or synthetic biology ten or twenty years from now, and practise bridging science, diplomacy, business and society before those choices become real,” said Gual Soler.
Since 2025, GESDA and ASEF have worked together to train young professionals in anticipatory leadership and science diplomacy. The MoU formalises and expands this partnership into a long-term strategic framework. It will bring insights from the Science Breakthrough Radar into ASEF’s programmes, allow the two partners to co-design experiential learning, and build an Asia–Europe community of anticipatory leaders, facilitators and alumni.
One example of this collaboration is the Quantum Diplomacy Game, which draws on the Radar to explore plausible futures for people, society and the planet. In 2025, ASEF and GESDA adapted the game for online delivery. In 2026, GESDA trained more than 500 early-career professionals and youth leaders in Anticipatory Leadership and Anticipatory Science Diplomacy, through ASEF’s Asia-Europe Science & Technology Diplomacy Initiative and the ASEF Young Leaders Summit.
