Open World Conference 2025

An Open World? The Contemporary Relevance of Niels Bohr's Open Letter to the United Nations of 1950.

Open World Conference 2025 was an interdisciplinary conference exploring the relevance of Niels Bohr’s 1950 open letter to the United Nations in today’s world.

Marking the 75th anniversary of Bohr's open letter to the United Nations, we celebrated Bohr’s vision of an open world and gathered researchers and opinion makers from all over the world to discuss openness in science, diplomacy, and global security.

Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science, Christina Egelund, opened the Open World Conference 2025 with perspectives on openness and collaboration.

Topics included Bohr’s legacy and its present-day significance; the legitimate limits of openness; the challenges of data and artificial intelligence; the risks of nuclear threats; and the role of young researchers in an increasingly closed world. See the full programme.

The venue

Open World Conference 2025 took place in the Queen's Hall in the building the Black Diamond, home to the Royal Danish Library. The Black Diamond stands on the Copenhagen's waterfront with a beautiful view over the harbour. 

The Black Diamond
The venue for Open World Conference 2025 was the Black Diamond, the Royal Danish Library.

The Queen's Hall is one of Denmark's most elegant conference and concert halls. In the Queen's Hall the acoustics are unbeatable, the hall is equipped with comfortable cinema seats, and because of the sloping floor everyone can easily see the stage. Besides the hall we had access to the beautiful atrium, where the meals were served. 

The Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall, conference hall in the Black Diamond.
Frank von Hippel discusses how Evgeny Velikhov’s nuclear glasnost helped end the Cold War arms race.

Rector at the University of Copenhagen David Dreyer Lassen speaking on openness in research and research collaboration.

Member of the organizing committee and Director of the Niels Bohr Archives Christian Joas on Niels Bohr and the making of the open letter.

Member of the organizing committee and Professor Emeritus of Physics Tomas Bohr on The Atomic Nucleus, the War, and the Open Letter.