In June 2006, seventeen scientists and educators selected by the National Academies, the Academy of Sciences of Iran, and the Académie des Sciences of France held a workshop at the estate of the Fondation des Treilles in Toutour, France, to discuss issues concerning the role of science in the development of modern societies. The three academies had organized a related workshop on food safety and security, global energy transitions, and education issues at the estate in 2003; the success of that workshop was a strong incentive to return to Toutour. This report includes the presentations made at the workshop and summarizes the discussions that followed the presentations.