In times of great uncertainty and complex change, our capacity to navigate through the unknown depends on how comfortable we are with what is different from us. How do we learn to shape our emotions and reactions, to change our mindset, and to take responsibility today for the future? The creative collisions of art, culture, science, and design confront us with what it means to be inclusive and to accept diversity as a strength and not as a threat.

Andrea Bandelli is the executive director of Science Gallery International. He has led, managed, directed, and evaluated several international projects linked with science, art, democracy, and public participation—many in collaboration with Ecsite, the European network of science centers and museums. Bandelli has written widely on public engagement with science and has recently completed his doctoral research on scientific citizenship and the role of public participation in science centers.