Brazil

Planetary Embassy To Open in São Paulo

For the inauguration of its new location on Paulista Avenue this September, Swissnex presents the São Paulo edition of Planetary Embassy, part of a global event series exploring a new form of diplomacy that places nature and the planet at the center.

Brazil | September 1, 2026

It’s a new chapter for Swissnex in Brazil. More than a decade after establishing its presence in Rio de Janeiro, Swissnex is relocating its headquarters to São Paulo, where a newly renovated space on Paulista Avenue puts it at the heart of Latin America’s scientific, economic, and cultural capital. “This is about much more than a new location,” says Benjamin Bollmann, CEO of Swissnex in Brazil. “Over the past two years, we’ve built a new team in São Paulo and developed a new strategy to connect the Swiss and Brazilian research and innovation ecosystems, with a particular focus on nature and the bio-based economy. A key priority is deepening Switzerland’s engagement with the Amazon region.”

To mark the beginning of this new phase, Swissnex will present the São Paulo edition of Planetary Embassy on September 28-October 1, 2026. First developed for COP30 in Belém and Climate Week in New York, this global event series explores Swissnex’s experimental concept of planetary diplomacy, in which diplomacy extends beyond the human realm to encompass the other living, nonliving, and technological agencies that compose the planet. Following Boston, Osaka, and, soon, China, the São Paulo edition will feature the following highlights:

  • The outdoor exhibition Planetary Embassy on Avenida Paulista featuring eight large-scale photographs by emerging Swiss and Brazilian artists along the avenue, under the patronage of renowned Swiss-Brazilian photographer Claudia Andujar.
  • The launch of the Living Forest Coalition, Swissnex’s new platform to strengthen the partnership between Switzerland and Amazonia in research, innovation, and the arts.
  • The launch of the Urban Futures Residency, a Swiss-Brazilian initiative for reimagining planetary habitability, developed by Swissnex, ETH Wohnforum – ETH Case, the Swiss Leading House for Latin America, and São Paulo-based Instituto Tomie Ohtake.
  • The Confluence Dialogues, a three-part series of transdisciplinary experiences that takes the ancient rivers buried under the streets of São Paulo as a starting point to explore the idea of planetary diplomacy.

The Planetary Embassy will culminate on October 1 with Imagining Planetary Diplomacy, the official event marking the opening of Swissnex’s new home on Paulista Avenue.

“For our Swiss stakeholders, São Paulo is the gateway to what you could call a ‘nature renaissance’ taking shape across Brazil,” says Benjamin Bollmann. “The city brings together leading voices from science, technology, finance, and the arts who are rethinking our relationship with nature, while also learning from centuries-old Indigenous knowledge systems and cosmologies. It’s the ideal place for Swissnex to deepen Swiss engagement with this movement, whether in nature tech, regenerative agriculture and food systems, bioenergy, nature finance, biodiversity science, or the Amazon’s emerging socio-bioeconomy.”

More than a three-day experience, the Planetary Embassy is a prototype for a new kind of diplomacy that places nature and the planet at the center. With its new home on Paulista Avenue, Swissnex aims to make the experimental spirit of planetary diplomacy a permanent part of its work, positioning Switzerland as a key partner for advancing the nature transition in Brazil, Switzerland, and beyond.