Michel Rocard described the Middle East as a region of misery, and ascribed the emergence of violence to the colonial period, the discovery of oil, the Second World War and the declaration of the State of Israel. He believes that the pressure of geopolitics, the threats of violence, and the militarization of the surrounding region left no opportunity for an internal reform. Speaking of Europe and America, he elaborated on the heritage of secularism and related that to economy. He concluded that peace is not in the hands of politicians alone.
In an illuminating lecture, “the Father of the Internet” spoke about the Internet and digital libraries, as well as the effects of search engines and un-structured data with some speculations about Sir Tim Berner's Lee semantic web.
During the proceedings of BioVisionAlexandria 2004, Rowland gave an account of the study of the elements of our atmosphere, with special focus on ozone layer. He also tackled the greenhouse effects, gas absorption, global warming, smug and urban pollution, population growth, and climate change.
Ryoji Noyori’s lecture elaborated on the role of synthetic Chemistry and asymmetric catalysis in the discovery, research and production of pharmaceutical drugs.