New technologies. New advances in medicine. We hear about a new drug to cure this disease, a protein that has been discovered, a new technology that will improve that process. But, what does it really mean? Are we all understanding the same thing? Who controls what is being researched or how should human enhancement, genetic testing, etc be used?

All of these questions have no definite answer, but the different points of view of a panel on the topic today gave me a pretty good idea of how differently humans can think about one same issue. The one thing the panel really agreed on was that it has be to “ethical”. Nick Bostrom, Director of the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford, gave excellent examples of how humans have reacted negatively to advances in medicine throughout history, for example anesthesia (something that I take for granted, how could I go to the dentist without it?). How can science and society interphase? According to Nick, through public understanding (when scientists explain to the general public how things work, in my case, it could be the equivalent to learning a foreign language in 24 hours), public engagements where people would have the chance to ask questions (sounds better) and bringing the public in an earlier stage of the research process.

When asked about why people resist to technological and scientific change, he commented that before, people were born, lived and died without really experiencing these changes during their lifetime. About 300 to 400 years ago, changes began to happen, so people have not “evolved” biologically to resist change, it’s psychological. It takes time for people to differentiate between good and bad ideas. Well, that leaves me thinking: how do we all agree what is bad and what is good? Where do we draw the line?

Why have women entrepreneurs, managers, civil society leaders, academics and artists from all over the world come to Dauville to meet for three days in a conference centre? Talking to the participants as they queue up for their badges shows a universe of women leaders who deeply believe in the value of this event for them personally and for their organisations.

They are here to find inspiration and share experiences with their peers from all corners of the world. Elizabeth Pastore-Reiss from the consultancy Ethicity sums it up saying the Forum provides a global vision on sustainability built on women’s concern about what kind of world future generations will inherit from us. Elene Chatillon, a young consultant at McKinsey, is here to meet amazing women and participate in a strong debate on trust in business and society. For Florence Lenne from Aeroports de Paris, the Forum creates a space for reflection and exchange, networking and even making new friends.

The Forum as an opportunity to network with inspiring women is a key motivation for the participants. They come here to gain energy, ideas and new relationships and hope this will help them change their organisations to the advantage of other women as well as men. Some of them are senior managers who have been charged by their organisations with the responsibility of improving talent through diversity. Erika Pulings leads talent management and diversity policies at Dexia. She is here to share best practices with other leading organisations on how to improve diversity and attract talent. This is important for all businesses, but in the financial sector in particular. Yolanda Conyers from Lenovo also believes in the importance of winning diverse talent for her organisation. For Lenovo, sponsoring the conference is an opportunity to reinforce its commitment to diversity and networking with women leaders who share the same vision.

For many of the participants, this is the first year they attend the Forum. This shows how a long way the Forum has gone to establish its reputation as a source of inspiration and ideas for women leaders from all over the world. On its first day, the atmosphere of the event is filled with energy, confidence and interest to learn from each other. It is the women leaders who create this atmosphere and they want to carry it with them and bring it out into the world on leaving Deauville.