UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES, the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University and the Club of Rome have launched A Time of Great Consequence: A Manifesto for Bridging Knowledge and Action. Endorsed by scientists, scholars, authors, policymakers and institutions worldwide, the document calls for a fundamental shift in how humanity turns knowledge into action. It argues that responses to Earth system change remain out of step with what is already understood about its consequences. The manifesto will inform discussions at the 2026 MOST Forum in Paris on 29 and 30 September 2026, ahead of an extraordinary session of UNESCO’s Management of Social Transformations programme on 1 October.

Bridging Knowledge Systems

The manifesto’s central argument is that no single discipline, institution or knowledge system can address today’s environmental and social crises alone. It calls for scientific, humanistic, cultural, Indigenous, professional and lived knowledge to be brought together, with institutions reoriented to connect understanding with action.

Its authors identify economic inequality, social fragility, political divisions and fragmented knowledge as barriers to collective action. The document places particular emphasis on the role of social sciences and humanities in helping societies understand change, negotiate choices and build institutions that can respond.

Steven Hartman, Founding Executive Director, UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition, said:

“Within BRIDGES we regard the Earth not solely as a planetary system, nor as a reservoir of resources, but as a web of meanings and interactions that is inherently multilayered and pluralistic. This is why the humanities and social sciences are crucial to any understanding of socio-ecological resilience. Bridging knowledge systems is the first step from understanding to action.”

Institutions And Public Participation

The manifesto calls for conditions in which diverse communities can deliberate, learn and collaborate across their differences. It presents trust and shared purpose as necessary foundations for institutions seeking to learn with the people they serve.

Its proposals include renewing institutions so they can connect knowledge with action while developing unrealised human capacities. This is framed as a practical response to systems that the manifesto says are increasingly out of step with current realities.

Najat Vallaud Belkacem, former minister for Education, France, and an endorser of the manifesto, said:

“The barriers to knowledge are political, cultural and gendered, and for too long, that knowledge has been produced by a narrow circle and directed at everyone else. This manifesto names those barriers and commits us to placing the social sciences and humanities at the heart of how we govern, for the benefit of all.”

A Broad Coalition Of Endorsers

Endorsers include Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and member of the Club of Rome; Carlos Lopes, Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town; and Janez Potocnik, Co-chair of the UNEP International Resource Panel. The group spans research, policy, civil society and international institutions.

The initiative also links sustainability to the social conditions that shape whether policies can succeed. Its focus reflects the challenges addressed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES identifies as central to its work.

Carlos Álvarez Pereira, Secretary General, the Club of Rome, said:

“The wisdom required to navigate our crises already exists everywhere, in the lived experiences of those on the frontlines. This manifesto is the choice, made in solidarity, to transform decision-making with that wisdom, as generations to come deserve.”

From Manifesto To Policy Toolkit

The 2026 MOST Forum will bring together policymakers, researchers and practitioners to begin translating the manifesto’s principles into a practical toolkit for policymakers. An accompanying policy framework has been submitted to the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO’s Management of Social Transformations programme ahead of its extraordinary session.

The next stage will test whether a shared commitment to bridge disciplines and experiences can be translated into policy processes that support well-being, social justice and social cohesion. For the partners behind the manifesto, this is the central task: ensuring that knowledge already available can inform collective action for people and planet.

Derek Walker, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and an endorser of the manifesto, said:

“Future generations will judge us not by what we knew, but by what we did with that knowledge. This manifesto offers a compelling vision for bringing together diverse perspectives, strengthening our institutions and turning understanding into the collective action needed to build just and sustainable futures.”