After the fall of the Berlin Wall many embraced Francis Fukuyama’s thesis of the ‘end of history’ and the final triumph of liberal order. This lecture interrogates that claim, examining how recent geopolitical upheavals and assertive power politics reshape global commerce. It explores current trade dynamics, supply-chain strategies and the emergence of hybrid economic orders, revealing how states and markets adapt. The talk highlights implications for policy, business and international cooperation.

In French.

Jérôme Kasparian, Professor and Director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, presents this lecture. He draws on his expertise in environmental science to analyse methods for visualising climate change and communicating ecological impacts.

The talk examines climatic analogues — identifying present-day regions with climates similar to a location’s projected future — and uses European vineyards to illustrate the approach. It also explores climate-change velocity, describing species and ecosystem capacity to track shifting suitable conditions.

In French.

Mireille Bétrancourt, full professor in information technologies and learning processes at TECFA-FAPSE, UNIGE, presents an analysis of AI-generated images and videos and their impact on how we assess content cognitively and emotionally. The talk examines mechanisms of manipulation, the biases they introduce in perception and decision-making, and practical critical-thinking strategies to evaluate and contextualize digital media. Participants will gain tools to interrogate sources, detect manipulation cues and strengthen reflective evaluation.

In French.