Discover the A Ciel Ouvert Institute through moments captured during our events and activities. Bridging science and spirituality, these images bear witness to a journey of exploration, sharing, and awareness. Each photograph reflects a living, human, and inspired experience.

Discover the brochure of Institut À Ciel Ouvert – Science & Spirituality, a Swiss foundation that fosters dialogue between the natural sciences, the humanities, and metaphysical reflection. It presents the Institute’s mission, activities, and events centered on the major questions surrounding the origin of life, the Universe, and consciousness.

The roundtable discussion “Artificial Intelligence: What Humanity for Tomorrow?” explores how AI and the biosciences, in a world undergoing rapid technological change, challenge our definition of what it means to be human. With Jacques Besson, psychiatrist and honorary professor at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine / Solange Ghernaouti, President of the SGH Foundation – Cybermonde Research Institute, Director of the Swiss Cybersecurity Advisory & Research Group, honorary professor / Beth Singler, anthropologist and professor in the Digital Religion(s) research programme / Moderated by Marie-Gabrielle Cajoly, Director of the IACO / in partnership with the Faculty of Theology of UNIGE.
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This retreat took place in the Engadine at the end of August 2025. It brought together researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, fostering open and interdisciplinary exchanges where science, philosophy, and humanism converged around the theme: “Living Matter, Inert Matter: A Planetary Perspective on Life.”

First screening of the film produced by the Films Plans-Fixes Association in 2025, on the occasion of Yves Oltramare’s 100th anniversary, at the Cinéma des Grütli in Geneva in October 2026.

Documentary “The Universe of Friendship Between the Painter and the Astrophysicist” with Fabienne Verdier (painter) & Trinh Xuan Thuan (astrophysicist) (2021).

Evening on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at the Maison Rousseau et Littérature in Geneva. Presentation of a selection of Fabienne Verdier’s works, the Rainbows, from the exhibition “The Song of the Stars.”

In this round table, five speakers from the fields of physics, biology, theology, and philosophy explore the nature of matter, life, and the Universe through a dialogue between science, philosophy, and spirituality. With: Inès Safi – Quantum Physicist / Jacques Arnould – Historian of Science, Theologian, and Ethics Expert at CNES / Marie-Christine Maurel – Cellular and Molecular Biologist / Giuseppe Iacobucci – Particle Physicist / Ghislain Waterlot – Philosopher and Ethicist / Moderator: Marie-Gabrielle Cajoly, Director of IACO / In partnership with the Faculty of Theology of the University of Geneva (UNIGE).
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How do physics and spirituality approach the enigma of the origins of life? Featuring Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Michel Mayor, physicist Nicolas Gisin, and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard / Moderated by: Marie-Gabrielle Cajoly, Director of the IACO / In partnership with the Faculty of Theology of the University of Geneva (UNIGE).
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An interdisciplinary dialogue between theology, philosophy, and cosmology, bringing together different fields of knowledge to explore the enigma of the origins of life and the meaning of the human being in the universe. With the participation of Yves Flückiger, Rector of the University of Geneva (UNIGE); Stéphane Berthet, Vice-Rector of UNIGE; Ghislain Waterlot, Dean of the Faculty of Theology; and Elisabeth Gangloff-Parmentier, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Theology. With the exceptional presence of Didier Queloz, Nobel Prize in Physics 2019; Trinh Xuan Thuan, astrophysicist and writer; and Fabienne Verdier, painter. Moderated by Marie-Gabrielle Cajoly, Yves and Inez Oltramare Foundation.
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