Responding to the accelerated social changes in the world, the University of Basel, Switzerland's oldest university, has founded a new research centre and platform for interdisciplinary dialogue: the Forum Basiliense. The forum aims to foster exchange and collaboration between scholars of the humanities and social sciences, life sciences and the natural sciences. The question of “freedom” is at the centre of the initial phase of our forum and the intellectual focus for our first group of international fellows in 2024.

Freedom is one of the central concepts of the Enlightenment, one of the core themes of modern societies. The individual in Western societies is freer than ever before, but we witness increasing disagreement about what we mean when we talk about freedom. In times of great changes and challenges - such as advances in artificial intelligence, new work and family models, or climate change - what does freedom mean, how is it challenged and what role does science play in it?

For the upcoming year 2025, the focus will be on "Living in the Anthropocene". It outlines a problem area of eminent urgency that is more dependent on trans- and interdisciplinary exchange and opportunities for collaboration than almost any other in the current scientific landscape.