Since its founding, the University of Notre Dame has sought to address the world’s most pressing challenges through scholarship, partnership and service. Responding to the growing urgency of environmental change requires precisely this kind of collaboration, bringing together universities, researchers and communities to create solutions that are just, sustainable and grounded in shared responsibility for our planet.
Inspired in part by Pope Francis’s call in Laudato si’ to care for “our common home,” Notre Dame has participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) for more than a decade. The University recognizes that the decisions and collaborations emerging from COP have a profound impact on global research, policy and innovation.
This November, COP30 will convene in Belém, Brazil. Capitalizing on Notre Dame’s presence in São Paulo, Notre Dame Global and Notre Dame São Paulo will host a conference together with Notre Dame Research and the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership (NDDCEL), the week before the international climate summit.
The two-day program is titled “Bridging Worlds: Cultivating Research Partnerships for Climate Hope,” a nod to the University’s 2025-26 forum theme of “Cultivating Hope,” and it aims to bring together faculty from across departments at Notre Dame and universities in Brazil to explore the role of research in shaping just and hopeful climate solutions. The conference will be held at the University of São Paulo (USP), one of the leading universities in Latin America, and will feature representatives from several Notre Dame units including the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative, Environmental Change Initiative, Notre Dame Research, the Center for Research Computing, the Keough School of Global Affairs, the Mendoza College of Business, the College of Engineering and the College of Science. Panelists and speakers include the following Notre Dame faculty: Alvaro Acosto Serrano, Diogo Bolster, Jessica McManus Warnell, Jarek Nabrzyski, Ray Offenheiser, Sandra Vera-Munoz and Danielle Wood.
Notre Dame São Paulo Director Thaïs Burmeister de Campos Pires shared: “Hosting the ‘Bridging Worlds’ program here in São Paulo highlights the University of Notre Dame’s commitment to building meaningful global partnerships. Notre Dame São Paulo serves as a bridge between Notre Dame and leading Brazilian institutions, enabling faculty and students to connect and collaborate on innovative solutions for pressing global challenges. We are proud to provide a space for shared research, dialogue and impact.”
Notre Dame faculty and faculty from preeminent institutions across São Paulo and Brazil will have the opportunity to build and strengthen research partnerships through working sessions and networking events. The sessions will prioritize collaborative work between the faculty members, while alumni and other friends of the University from the region will engage around the conference themes and stakeholder partners.
The evening before the conference begins, the Notre Dame Alumni Association and the Notre Dame Club of Brazil are sponsoring a Hesburgh Lecture on the theme of ethical leadership and sustainability to be held at Insper, a nonprofit higher education research institution. The lecture will feature Rex and Alice A. Martin Faculty Director of the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership Jessica McManus Warnell and director of the McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business Ray Offenheiser. An Insper faculty member will serve as a respondent, offering reflections and local perspectives on the themes of ethical leadership and sustainability.
The lecture will provide the ideal introduction to the conference, inspiring conversations about climate risk assessment, sustainability, adaptive livelihoods, just transitions and more in the days to follow. Ultimately, the “Bridging Worlds” program hopes to be a catalyst for impactful research and partnerships between Brazil and Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame’s identity as a global Catholic research university compels us to engage in these conversations,” said Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization at the University of Notre Dame. “Our faculty members and those of our partner institutions possess a wealth of knowledge on the subject of climate and sustainability, and by bringing them together, we are working towards a deeper understanding of how our local and global systems are intertwined.”
Originally published by at saopaulo.nd.edu on Oct. 27.
Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu, and Jessica Sieff, associate director of media relations, 574-631-3933 or jsieff@nd.edu