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Effective political decisions are based on sound science. With this guiding principle, Springer Nature brought the successful US event series “Science on the Hill” to Germany for the first time. Under the banner “Science on the Spree,” the new format took place on November 6 at the Federal Press Conference building in Berlin. In cooperation with the DZD partner German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE), the inaugural event focused on the highly relevant topic of healthy and sustainable nutrition, as part of Berlin Science Week.

Professor Annette Schürmann, DZD spokesperson for DIfE, explains the relationship between nutrition and health. © Springer Nature

On November 6, 2023, around 90 attendees and 150 livestream viewers followed the discussion about the current state of science and concrete political recommendations relating to how healthy and sustainable nutrition can be achieved. The speakers on the high-profile panel were Renate Künast (MdB, Bündnis 90/The Greens), Dr. Oliver Vogt (MdB, CDU/CSU parliamentary group), Dr. Benjamin Leon Bodirsky (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), Professor Walter Willett (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, US), and Professor Laura M. König (University of Vienna, Austria). The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Daniel Lingenhöhl, editor-in-chief of “Spektrum der Wissenschaft.”

A long tradition
The hybrid event was held in Germany with simultaneous interpreting into English and was opened by Cornelius Rahn, Communications Director at Springer Nature. He welcomed the audience on behalf of Springer Nature and referenced the impressive tradition of the publishers spanning more than 180 years. Since Springer Nature was founded in 1842 in Berlin, the publishing group has been committed to the dissemination of trustworthy knowledge and is proud to publish a significant part of the most important global research findings in highly renowned journals, such as “Nature.”

“Today, I am delighted that, inspired by Washington DC’s “Science on the Hill,” we can offer the fields of science and politics an open stage to pose important political questions on a solid scientific footing,” said Rahn, before giving the floor over to Prof. Annette Schürmann from DIfE. The Head of the Department of Experimental Diabetology was present as the representative of the co-organizer and stressed the importance of the relationship between nutrition and health. She pointed out that DIfE is the only independent non-university institute studying this relationship. After a short introduction to the three main research topics, she explained how DIfE researchers work in an interdisciplinary manner to generate evidence-based knowledge and confront societal challenges in the field of agriculture and nutrition.

A forward-looking format
“DIfE is delighted to be at the Science on the Spree premiere,” said Schürmann. “This new format pursues the objective of reinforcing the connection between science and politics and promoting an open dialogue between researchers and political decision-makers. DIfE supports this initiative to build bridges between science and politics and make evidence-based knowledge useful for society. The start of this series of events marks a significant step in the direction of more in-depth cooperation between science and politics.”

The lively discussion resulted in a six-part “toolbox,” which you can view via this link.

Background information
“Science on the Hill” is a series of events initiated in the US by Springer Nature. The series aims to bring politicians and leading scientists together and promote an open exchange about new scientific findings in the context of pending policy measures. The events take place on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, hence the name “Science on the Hill,” and aim to promote transparency in political decision-making and construct a bridge between science and politics.

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DIfE as Co-organizer of the Inaugural “Science on the Spree”