Welcome coffee
Forecourt of the Research center (UPF)
Registration desk – name badge pickup for participants of the
workshops

Official Opening
Amphi A3 (UPF)
Keynote speeches & signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Nārua partners

INAUGURAL LECTURE BY EVELYNE HEYER
Amphi A3 (UPF)

What connects us : the Odyssey of genes.
Exploring, through the genetics of Oceanic peoples, what connects us and inspires us to build a regional academic community focused on the future.

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Presentation summary

Each of our cells contains nearly two meters of DNA—four billion base pairs and around 20,000 genes. Beyond shaping who we are as individuals, this molecule allows us to retrace the deep history of humankind.

Professor Evelyne Heyer, a genetic anthropologist at the French National Museum of Natural History, uses this molecular archive to explore our origins. Travelling across the world, she has collected and analysed DNA to uncover when and where humans first appeared, the major migrations that shaped our species, and how culture has influenced our genes—sometimes giving populations key advantages in challenging environments.

How does DNA reveal these stories? What surprising truths does it hold? Evelyne Heyer will guide us through these insights.

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Biography

Professor Evelyne Heyer is a professor of genetic anthropology at the French National Museum of Natural History, where she conducts research on the genetic evolution and diversity of our species. Internationally renowned, she founded and led a research unit in Eco-Anthropology bringing together around one hundred researchers. She was awarded the CNRS bronze medal in 1999. She also served as the scientific lead for the renovation of the Musée de l’Homme, where she is the Scientific Curator. She later co-curated the major exhibitions « Aux Frontières de l’humain » and « Nous et les Autres : des préjugés au racisme ».

High-level dialogue :
CROSSED PERSPECTIVES
WITH ACADEMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL LEADERS
Amphi A3 (UPF)

Dreaming together :
What might a “Pacific academic Community” look like in 2035 ?

Inspiring youth through education : how can this community remain locally relevant while being globally impactful?

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Speakers

• Brian Schmidt
  Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the Australian National University
  Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011
  
  
• Tim Flannery
  Professor, Scientist, Writer and Thinker
  2007 Australian of the Year
  
  
• Francois GERMINET
  Director of the Knowledge department at the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI) of France 2030
  
  
• Francois TADDEI
  President of the Learning Planet Institute (LPI)