Global Negotiation
Conference

Global Negotiation Conference 2025
On the topic of: "Deep Sea Mining"
Hosted at the University of Zurich
7–11 July 2025

Applications for the Global Negotiation Conference 2025 are now open!

The annual Global Negotiation Conference (GNC) is the flagship event organised by the IGN. The conference brings together teams of graduate students from around the world to participate in five-days of workshops and presentations by leading academics and practitioners in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution. Each year the conference culminates in a multiparty simulation, designed by members of the IGN, based on a pressing global issue.

As of 2025, the global community is at a crucial moment in determining the future of seabed mineral extraction. Although many states and industries push for early permissions to mine in the deep sea, thirty-two countries urge for a precautionary pause due to concerns about environmental impacts. Representing a trillion-dollar industry, deep sea mining poses a critical test for the international community to navigate economic ambitions, environmental conservation, technological development.

The 2025 Global Negotiation Conference will bring together graduate students and young professionals from around the world to explore the negotiation avenues crucial for developing balanced frameworks to mitigate economic, social, and ecological interests in deep sea mining.

What is the GNC?

The GNC was originally founded out of the International Negotiations seminar at the University of Bern where it was held from 2014-2017. The conference was then hosted by the Chair of Negotiation and Conflict Management at ETH Zurich 2018-2019 and since 2020 has been hosted by the Chair of Political Philosophy and the Chair of International Relations and Political Economy at the University of Zurich.

The program consists of three days of interactive workshops and presentations which deal with issues related to negotiation and conflict resolution. The content of the sessions varies each year, examples include leadership and negotiation, peace mediation skills, negotiation engineering, cultural aspects of negotiation, digital diplomacy, negotiation strategy and planning.

Negotiation Simulation

On the final day of the conference the student teams take part in a multiparty simulation which is prepared throughout the year by members of the Institute. The theme of the simulation always centres on a pressing global challenge. Previous topics include climate change, large movement of refugees, the response to global pandemics, lethal autonomous weapons systems, business and human rights, humanitarian access to conflict zones, tthe utilisation of space resources and global AI governance.