CERN and Science Diplomacy

It was Day 4. Our CERN day :) Even though it was my second time, I was still quite giddy. It’s CERN!! The second time hit differently, though. I went with our GESDA Science Diplomacy cohort, but something clicked in an unexpected way.

The facilities brought back memories of Doc Palisoc and his lectures back at the National Institute of Physics on fermions and bosons. 🤓 But this time, what hit me was the STAGGERING investment scale for FUNDAMENTAL research: roughly $5 billion for construction, $1 billion yearly operating costs shared across member states.

Imagine this pitch: “We’ll spend billions to find a particle we’re not sure exists, with no commercial application.” ehehe, of course, that’s a bit of an exaggeration ;) No projected financial returns, just pure knowledge seeking. But my real goosebumps moment: The diplomacy-enabled investments came first, and spin-offs followed. The www, medical imaging, computing breakthroughs… none in the original proposal, yet they transformed everything.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Founded in 1954 during the Cold War, with 12 European countries collaborating on peaceful research. “No direct use for military applications.” Now, 23 member states participate, with negotiations and funding agreements representing diplomacy at its finest.

Scientists from countries with “tense” relationships work side by side here 💕 They share expertise, pool resources for facilities no single nation could afford. The science itself creates diplomatic connections.

Of course, sustainability challenges exist. Energy requirements, environmental impact, long-term funding commitments–complex system challenges we all brought up and discussed with our hosts.

This immersion reinforced why science diplomacy matters. When countries work beyond immediate interests, seemingly impossible achievements become possible.

CERN’s multi-decade collaboration outperforms our typical crisis-driven responses. Maybe that’s the real lesson, 𝘯𝘰𝘩? Effective diplomacy creates enduring frameworks that outlast the problems they were built to solve