2025 marks a historic moment as South Africa hosts the first G20 Summit on the African continent. Alongside the South Africa Anticipatory Leadership Week in Pretoria, GESDA was invited by South African Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande to actively contribute to the G20 Research and Innovation Ministerial agenda. The theme chosen by the South African Presidency — “Science, Technology and Innovation for Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability” — mirrors GESDA’s own mission: to place science anticipation and anticipatory science diplomacy at the heart of global governance.

Anticipatory Science Diplomacy for a Renewed Multilateralism

At the UNESCO MOST Forum, Enrico Letta, GESDA Board Member and Chair of the Diplomacy Forum, set the tone by reminding delegates of the price of inaction:  “Anticipation is about creating the conditions today for the opportunities of tomorrow. From climate change to pandemics, from artificial intelligence to gene editing – we know all too well the cost of failing to anticipate: greater divides, deeper crises, and missed chances to act collectively. Anticipatory science diplomacy must become a key instrument of global governance.”

Later, addressing the Ministerial Meeting itself on 23 September, Letta carried a powerful message to Ministers of Science, Technology and Innovation from the world’s largest economies: “Anticipation is not a luxury: failure to anticipate means letting others define your future. No country can afford to be a passive recipient of technological change; it must actively forecast, plan, and advocate.”

In bilateral engagements with the South African Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Nzimande, the Principal Scientific Advisor of India, Prof. Ajay Sood and OECD representatives, GESDA emphasized the opportunities of multistakeholder anticipatory action for a more effective multilateralism.

Looking Beyond the Present with the Science Breakthrough Radar®

GESDA Board Member and Chair of the Academic Forum Michael Hengartner joined the gathering of G20 Chief Science Advisors to deliver a keynote presentation of the GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar®. Built with input from over 2,300 scientists worldwide, the Radar scans more than 40 fields and 350 breakthroughs at 5-, 10- and 25-year horizons. Hengartner’s intervention underscored the urgency of anticipating governance before crises emerge:

“We knew artificial intelligence would come – we didn’t know exactly when – but we knew it was coming. We have known for decades. We should have anticipated its governance, but it feels like we are always running after the ball.”

His call inspired the group to think beyond immediate crises and engage with futures that are already taking shape.

Anticipation in Action: From Quantum to Climate

In multiple interventions, GESDA illustrated how science anticipation is applied in practice:

• Through the Open Quantum Institute launch born at GESDA and hosted at CERN, with the support of UBS; GESDA is shaping the governance of quantum computing before deployment and commercialization, with South Africa as one of its contributors.
• By convening “anticipatory discussions” on fields such as neurotechnology and eco-augmentation, GESDA is testing new governance approaches in real time.
• By developing capacities through events like the Anticipatory Leadership Week, GESDA equips leaders with the anticipatory mindset needed to navigate disruption.

None of this would have been possible without the commitment and hospitality of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation of South Africa (DSTI), under Minister Nzimande’s leadership, and the partnership of the Embassy of Switzerland in Pretoria. GESDA is grateful for their support in anchoring anticipation at the heart of the G20 process— and to contribute to building a multilateralism that is more agile, inclusive and anticipatory.

GESDA’s engagement in Pretoria demonstrates how anticipation can serve as a compass for multilateralism. As the global community grapples with the dual acceleration of science and geopolitical fragmentation, the message from Pretoria is clear:

Science is one of the last universal bridges we still share — but for that bridge to hold, we must build it now, with anticipation, openness, and shared purpose.