The Darwin Dialogues

The Darwin Dialogues are a new College initiative which aims to bring together Darwin’s students, Fellows, staff and alumni, as well as practitioners, policymakers and researchers from beyond the community, to explore responses to pressing global challenges.

Launched in 2026, the programme will host two in-depth events annually, with each Dialogue focused on a specific global challenge.

A defining feature of the Dialogues will be their inclusive, participatory, and collaborative approach. Each Dialogue will prioritise open discussion and the representation of a wide range of voices, perspectives, and forms of expertise. Through interdisciplinary exchange, the programme aims to foster new ideas, build connections, and develop innovative responses to complex global issues.

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Launch Event

The programme was launched on 28 April 2026 with an event designed to introduce the Darwin Dialogues and engage the College community in their development.

The day featured an inspiring keynote lecture by peace activist, ecologist, and educator Satish Kumar, followed by a series of interactive workshops exploring the potential format, themes, and outputs of the Dialogues.

We are delighted to announce that the inaugural Darwin Dialogue will take place on 29th and 30th September 2026, exploring the theme of Peace and the Unsustainable.

Registration is now open. Please sign up here if you plan to attend. 

Peace and the Unsustainable

Peace and sustainability are both widely recognised as urgent goals. Yet, they are often discussed separately and treated as distinct aims: with peace understood as the absence of war, and sustainability as the existence of durable environmental, economic, and social systems.

This first Darwin Dialogue will bring the two concepts together, examining their many areas of overlap and intersection. In particular, it will ask what this interplay reveals about the unsustainable conditions that shape contemporary societies and global interactions.

The Dialogue will involve participatory and creative sessions designed to encourage a diversity of perspectives to emerge.

Some questions and themes that might be explored include:

Cause and effect: how do unsustainability and conflict shape one another?

  • How might unsustainable practices (eg environmental degradation) fuel conflict, or make lasting peace harder to achieve?
  • In what ways might war, in turn, drive unsustainability?
  • Can war ever leave behind a sustainable legacy?

Definitions: how should we define peace and sustainability?

  • Can a society that is built on unsustainable foundations be called peaceful, so long as it is not at war? Is peace merely the absence of war?
  • Can a society be described as sustainable if it is not peaceful?
  • Do these definitions shift depending on whose vantage point we take?

Policy issues and trade-offs: what does pursuing both peace and sustainability demand?

  • What should a policy transition toward peace and sustainability look like?
  • Can such a transition be achieved without triggering conflict and instability?
  • What responsibilities do individuals have to play in confronting peace and the unsustainable?

Overall, this dialogue invites participants to examine the relationships between peace and sustainability, and to ask whether either can be understood without reference to the other.

Event details

  • The Darwin Dialogue 2026 will take place in the Bradfield Room, Darwin College, on Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th September.
  • Registration is open to all Darwin students, Fellows and staff, but final numbers will be limited to around 40 participants

For further information, please contact Zara Goldstone, Global Challenges Coordinator, on zg251@cam.ac.uk

 

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Background

In its 2022 Strategic Plan, Darwin College stated that it was “committed to a sustainable future, and to contributing to solving global challenges”.

To help realise this ambition, the College has developed a number of programmes designed to equip its community to make a difference and turn ideas into lasting change. The Darwin Dialogues are one such initiative.

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