Published 8 June 2026 by LINO News
In the Run-up to the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting: A Conversation About Science, Freedom, and Responsibility
The day before the Opening of the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, the city of Lindau in cooperation with the Lindau Meetings will host an event of exceptional political and intellectual significance. On Saturday, 27 June 2026 at 16:30, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski, former President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso – who himself accepted the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the European Union – and former President of the United Nations General Assembly Han Seung-soo will come together for a public dialogue on the relationship between science, civil society, and political responsibility.
The event takes place on the eve of a meeting dedicated, among other things, to the themes of Integrity and Resilience – two concepts that carry particular weight when viewed against the backdrop of Bialiatski’s biography.
A Voice That Could Not Be Silenced
Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, spent years in Belarusian prison for his tireless commitment to civil rights and democratic freedom. His presence in Lindau stands as a powerful reminder of what is at stake when the conditions for free inquiry – in science as in society – come under threat. His participation in the panel is one of the first public occasions with an audience he will take part in since being released in December 2025 after more than four years of imprisonment.
Science and Democracy: Inseparable
The dialogue will explore a question that runs as a thread through the entire 75th Lindau Meeting: How can science contribute to the resilience of open societies? And what responsibilities do scientific institutions bear when democratic foundations are eroded? These are not abstract questions. At a time of deepening geopolitical tensions, the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings – founded in 1951 in the spirit of post-war reconciliation – reaffirm their founding conviction: that open dialogue across borders, disciplines, and generations is not a luxury, but a necessity.
Prelude to a Historic Week
The event on 27 June sets the tone for the days that follow. From 28 June to 3 July 2026, around 70 Nobel Laureates and more than 600 Young Scientists from across the globe will gather in Lindau for the 75th Lindau Meeting (#LINO75) – the largest, most international and most diverse in the history of this unique forum. The interdisciplinary programme addresses the most urgent questions facing science and society: from artificial intelligence and quantum technologies to global health, scientific integrity, and the future of international cooperation.
The presence of Ales Bialiatski makes one thing unmistakably clear from the outset: in Lindau, science is never discussed in isolation from the world it serves.
About the Speakers
José Manuel Barroso served as President of the European Commission from 2004 to 2014. In 2012, he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the European Union – recognized for over six decades of contributions to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. Barroso has been a consistent voice on the intersection of science, innovation, and political responsibility in Europe and beyond.
Ales Bialiatski is the founder and long-time leader of Viasna, one of Belarus’s most prominent human rights organizations. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, together with the Russian organization Memorial and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties. He has spent extended periods in Belarusian prison for his human rights work.
Seung-soo Han served as President of the United Nations General Assembly from 2001 to 2002 and as Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea from 2008 to 2009. As President of the General Assembly, he was part of the delegation that accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 which was awarded to both the United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan in person. He has been a leading international voice on sustainable development, climate change, and the role of multilateral institutions in safeguarding global stability.
