Science is not an island of certainty. It is a public space for searching, doubting, and learning together. In times of climate crisis, it becomes clear how much our future depends on our ability not only to produce knowledge, but also to share it—with empathy, with the courage to embrace ambivalence, and with hope for democratic solutions.

As a researcher, I am interested in how emotions shape our democracy: how outrage, fear, or hope shape the political decisions of citizens—those who vote and those who participate politically in other ways. In doing so, I analyze how science can understand these emotions rather than suppress them. Because that is the only way to build bridges. We must link facts and values, expertise and everyday life, knowledge and responsibility.

The Science Ball stands for this togetherness: for a society in which knowledge is not elitist, but unifying. It reminds us that defending the values of the Enlightenment can only succeed if we recognize that they are inextricably linked to solidarity, recognition, and empathy.

Anna Durnová is a professor of Political Sociology at the University of Vienna and Faculty Fellow at the Yale University Center for Cultural Sociology. She completed her habilitation at Sciences Po Paris. Durnová, originally from Brno, is a member of the editorial board of the journals Policy & Politics and Critical Policy Studies. Her research focuses on the role of emotions in democratic societies. Durnová currently coordinates the international Horizon Europe project CIDAPE and the ERC Advanced Grant LONERS.