Dr Flavia Schlegel has a distinguished international career, which includes positions as a Science Diplomat in Washington DC, the USA and Shanghai, China.
At UNESCO, Dr Schlegel held the position of Assistant Director General for the Natural Sciences sector. During her tenure, 2014 – 2019, she oversaw UNESCO’s response to multilateral development agendas such as the 2030 Agenda or the Paris Agreement. In Shanghai, Dr Schlegel established swissnex China – the Swiss house for science, technology, innovation and culture – a trans-disciplinary institution supported by public and private funding.
She also served as Vice-Director at the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, responsible for pandemic preparation, prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases and bioethics.
From April 2019 to December 2020, Dr Schlegel served as the International Science Council’s first Special Envoy for Science in Global Policy. Current mandates in a senior advisory role include science engagement for I-DAIR, the recently created International Digital Health & Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (a follow up initiative to the UN High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation), SDG alignment of a multilateral development bank and support to the COVID-19 task force of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
Her areas of expertise are public health, international science cooperation for sustainable development and multi actor governance. She benefits from a global network covering science/science-policy interface/science diplomacy, governmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector.
Dr Schlegel holds a Medical Doctorate and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development
I had the privilege to support the ISC as its first Special Envoy for Science in Global Policy. This mandate ended in December 2020. Serving on the Elections Committee would give me the chance to contribute to the next phase of the ISC governance towards consolidation of the organization after the merger in 2018. I’d like to offer my experience, energy and time to prepare the nomination process for the ISC Governing Board to the best of my knowledge. It would be one of my priorities to ensure that the diversity of the ISC global membership, which sets the organization apart from other science organizations, will be reflected in the selection of candidates. No compromise should be made in terms of excellence of the candidates and their contribution to science as a global public good.
Flavia Schlegel
The page has been updated in May 2024.
