Can Science Remain Open in an Authoritarian World?

November 6, 2026, 4:30-6 pm, Berlin Science Week Festival Center

Can Science Remain Open in an Authoritarian World?

Open science fuelled the discoveries shaping our world. But can it survive authoritarianism, geopolitics & proprietary AI? Join the dialogue.

Closed Sign — Picture: Masaaki Komori / Unsplash

For over a decade, open science has been a promise that sharing research, methods, data, and teamwork across borders solves humanity's greatest challenges. But today, in times of growing nationalism, security concerns and authoritarianism, we stand at a crossroads. And the stakes have never been higher – not just for science, but for society itself.

What's at Stake for Society?

Open science is not merely an academic ideal – it is the infrastructure of collective problem-solving and the engine of scientific progress itself. Virtually every breakthrough today builds on openly shared findings, methods, and data, thus the free flow of knowledge across borders and institutions. Transparency and reproducibility, upheld through open access to methods and data, are the foundation of scientific integrity and public trust. If we retreat from openness, we risk a return to opaque, unverifiable research.

Multiple Pressures to close

Yet the pressures to close are mounting from multiple directions. Geopolitical tensions fracture international partnerships. Governments invoke research security and technological sovereignty, restricting knowledge flows in the name of dual-use concerns. The most powerful AI systems reshaping science today were built on openly shared research – yet they are closed and proprietary, and are now being used to flood the research ecosystem with content of questionable quality.

How Do We Preserve Openness in a Closing World?

Yet is the choice really between fully open and fully closed? Or can we design frameworks that balance transparency with legitimate security concerns, ensure AI systems trained on open data contribute back, and protect international collaboration while addressing dual-use risks? Join us for a critical dialogue together with experts on international cooperation and Open Science and contribute your insights and experiences.

Registration

November 6, 2026, 4:30-6 pm, Angie Stardust Foyer, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW)

Please register for free via the Berlin Science Week ticket shop. To access the Festival Centre at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) during Berlin Science Week, you will need a free Festival Pass, which you can select during the registration process for the event.

→ Register here

Speakers

Kamran Naim

Kamran Naim, PhD, is the Head of Open Science at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). He has more than 20 years of international leadership experience as an Open Science strategist. At the world’s largest research laboratory, CERN, he leads a diverse portfolio of activities which include the development of OS policies and their implementation and serves in key governance roles for the world’s largest open access collaboration, the Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics (SCOAP3) and for Open Research Europe (ORE). He is also a member of the Board of the European Open Science Could Association (EOSC-A) and serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of eLife.

Andrea Fleschenberg dos Ramos Pinéu

Andrea Fleschenberg dos Ramos Pinéu, Visiting Professor of Insular Southeast Asia, examines questions of institution-building and citizenship from a critical qualitative social research perspective. Since 2018, she is a lecturer at the Institute for Asian and African Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin and leads the Hidden Research project. She has also taught at the Quaid-i-Azam University, the National University of Science and Technology, and the Peschawar University in Pakistan as well as the Jaume I University in Spain. She is also a consultant for numerous foundations and NGOs in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Sakine Weikert

Sakine Weikert is head of the Centre for International Academic Cooperation (KIWi) at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). KIWi offers German universities individual advice on the strategic development and expansion of international cooperation under ever more complex framework conditions. Focus topics are science diplomacy, risk and security or legal frameworks, which are combined with DAAD’s worldwide regional expertise. Her regional expertise is on cooperation with China, where she has been director of DAAD’s Shanghai office 2018-2022.

Partners

Center for Open and Responsible Research and Center for Global Engagement at Berlin University Alliance