{"id":8998548,"date":"2026-09-09T19:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T19:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villa-albertine.org\/va\/?post_type=app_event&p=8998548"},"modified":"2026-09-22T21:35:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T21:35:48","slug":"albertine-conversations","status":"publish","type":"app_event","link":"https:\/\/villa-albertine.org\/va\/events\/albertine-conversations\/","title":{"rendered":"Albertine Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Albertine Conversations is a program created by Villa Albertine in partnership with universities and cultural institutions across the United States.<\/strong> Bringing together academics, policy experts, scientists, and community advocates from France and the United States, it explores some of the most pressing questions of our time, with a particular focus on democracy, ecology, history, and emerging technologies.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Democracy Series<\/strong> focuses on the future of democracy, examining current challenges to democratic values and institutions, whether cultural, legal, economic, technological or environmental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ecology Series<\/strong> centers on our evolving understanding of what constitutes life on earth, and the social and cultural implications of those shifts in the context of environmental crises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Emerging Technologies Series <\/strong>interrogates the notion of progress in relation to the fast-evolving fields of AI, digital media, as well as biotechnologies, weighing on the promises and risks each involves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2027, Villa Albertine will launch a new cycle, the Marc Bloch Series<\/strong>, devoted to history and historiography, inspired by the 2026 induction of the French historian and Resistance hero Marc Bloch into the Panth\u00e9on. The series will explore the relationship between democracy and historical scholarship while examining major currents of contemporary French historiography. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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This program is made possible through the generous support of the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation and the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, formerly Carnegie Corporation of New York.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Upcoming Events<\/h2>\n\n\n
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What is Left of the Paris Climate Agreement?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tColumbia University, Maison Fran\u00e7aise\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Register here<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
September 23, 2026 at 12 pm\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSee more<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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A conversation with Laurence Tubiana and Alexis Abramson, moderated by M. Sanjayan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Paris Climate Agreement was unanimously adopted by 194 countries in 2015 against considerable odds.  The Agreement set an ambitious goal of <\/em>limiting the global average temperature increase to well below 2\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to restrict the increase to 1.5\u00b0C. The United States, a major force in the successful ratification of Accord, has since pulled out of the agreement twice, most recently in January 2026.<\/p>\n

Can international policymaking still play a significant role in addressing the climate crisis?  Laurence Tubiana, Dean of the Paris Climate School at Sciences Po and a primary architect of the Paris Agreement, joins Alexis Abramson, Dean of the Columbia Climate School, to explore how countries can continue to strengthen international cooperation in face of the climate crisis. As the two Climate Schools come together to launch a Dual Master\u2019s in Climate<\/a>, Tubiana and Abramson will be asking how multilateral platforms can still be relevant to generate action to combat climate change. Their conversation will be moderated by M. Sanjayan, CEO of the New York Climate Exchange.<\/p>\n

This event is organized by Villa Albertine in partnership with the Columbia Maison Fran\u00e7aise, Alliance Program, and Columbia Climate School, and with the participation of the New York Climate Exchange.<\/p>\n

With<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alexis Abramson<\/strong> is Dean of the Columbia Climate School and a professor of climate. She is a recognized climate leader and an expert in sustainable energy technologies. Before assuming her role at Columbia in January 2025, Professor Abramson served as Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. She also served as Director of Case Western Reserve University’s Great Lakes Energy Institute, where she focused on developing sustainable energy technology solutions. During the Obama administration, she was chief scientist and manager of the Emerging Technologies Division in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office.<\/p>\n

Laurence Tubiana<\/strong> is an economist, diplomat, and dean of the Paris Climate School at Sciences Po. She has served as CEO of the European Climate Foundation since 2017 and was the Special Envoy for Europe at COP30. She was France’s ambassador for the COP21 climate negotiations and co-chaired the French Citizens’ Convention on Climate in 2020. Widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, she also co-founded the Paris-based Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) in 2001.<\/p>\n

M. Sanjayan<\/strong> is the CEO of the New York Climate Exchange. He is an internationally recognized conservation scientist and a leading public voice on climate. From 2017 to 2025, he led Conservation International, transforming the organization by forging strategic partnerships with leading companies, governments, and philanthropies to advance conservation goals. A scientist by training, he previously served for a decade as lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy. He is also an Emmy-nominated broadcaster and host of award-winning documentaries.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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City Living:\u202f Reimagining Urban Ecology <\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOct 13 – University of California, Los Angeles | Oct 15 – Columbia University\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Oct. 13 – UCLA: register here<\/a><\/p>\n

Oct. 15 – Columbia University: register here<\/a><\/p>\n

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The conversations at UCLA and Columbia University will explore different ways of effectively integrating ecological considerations into urban planning and design, preserve biodiversity in cities, protect species and their habitats, and transform our built environments and landscapes to address the climate crisis, support the shift to a renewable economy, and grow more vibrant and resilient cities.<\/p>\n

With<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c9ric Daniel-Lacombe<\/strong> is an award-winning architect, urbanist, and geographer. He holds the chair for “New Forms of Urban Living in the Face of Natural Disasters\u201d at the prestigious Villette Architecture school in Paris. He was the co-designer of the French Pavilion for the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale and received numerous awards for his innovative, floodable neighbourhood in the city of Romorantin, started in 2007. He is the author of Vers une architecture pour la sant\u00e9 du vivant (Presses Universitaires de Montr\u00e9al, 2023) and Inventer l\u2019architecture de l\u2019Anthropoc\u00e8ne (Le Moniteur, 2026)<\/p>\n

Aminata Niakat\u00e9<\/strong> is Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of green development and the protection of biodiversity. Since 2022, she has served as a national spokesperson for The Ecologists (Les \u00c9cologistes), France\u2019s Green political party. She has been a member of the Paris City Council since 2020. Niakat\u00e9 also serves as a member of France\u2019s Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), a constitutional advisory body that provides guidance on economic, social, and environmental policy issues.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Democracy, Ecology, and the Politics of Change <\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNov 9 – Duke University | Nov 12 – Columbia University\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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As we take stock of the devastating fires, droughts and floods affecting countries across the globe, we are also witnessing growing resistance to government-led policies addressing climate change. How can we develop a political ecology that reconnects social justice with ecological concerns? And how can we meaningfully involve those who fear they may lose out from the energy transition in shaping and implementing the policies that will affect them?<\/p>\n

The event will explore how ecological and democratic issues intersect, highlighting different perspectives on how best to foster collective action on environmental challenges.<\/p>\n

With<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marine Braud<\/strong>,<\/span> c<\/span>onsultant, co-founder of Alameda Sustainability, and a former environmental policy advisor to the French Prime Minister and the office of the President. She is the author of <\/span>Qui aurait pu pr\u00e9dire ? Le\u00e7ons de dix ans de politiques \u00e9cologiques depuis l’accord de Paris<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Jo\u00eblle Zask<\/strong>, professor of philosophy at Aix-Marseille University. She is one of France’s leading thinkers on participatory democracy and pragmatism. Her work examines the notion of <\/span>shared culture in relation to topics such as ecology, agriculture, education, politics, and art. She is the author of Participer: Essais sur les formes d\u00e9mocratiques de la participation <\/em>(Le bord de l’eau Editions, 2011); La D\u00e9mocratie aux champs<\/em> (La D\u00e9couverte, 2016); Quand la for\u00eat br\u00fble<\/em> (Premier Parall\u00e8le, 2019), Zoocities<\/em> (Premier Parall\u00e8le, 2020), \u00c9cologie et d\u00e9mocratie<\/em> (Premier Parall\u00e8le, 2022), among other major works<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n