World Conference on Science

World Conference on Science describes a global conference organized in 1999 to establish a new social contract for science and initial follow-up. In convening the World Conference on Science for the Twenty-First Century: a New Commitment, from 26 June to 1 July 1999 in Budapest, Hungary, UNESCO and the International Council for Science (ICSU), in co-operation with other partners, provided a global forum for debate between the scientific community and society.

Background

Science is a powerful means of understanding the world in which we live. It is also capable of yielding enormous returns that directly enhance socio-economic development and the quality of our lives. Scientific advances over the last 50 years have led to revolutionary changes in health, nutrition and communication; moreover, the role of science promises to be yet greater in the future because of ever-more-rapid scientific progress.

Meanwhile, humanity is being confronted with problems on a global scale, many - such as environmental degradation, pollution and climate change - caused by the mismanagement of natural resources or unsustainable production and consumption patterns. Even if the technology implicated in these problems can be said to have stemmed from science, we cannot hope to resolve these problems without the correct and timely use of science in the future.

In spite of the opportunities it offers us all, science itself is facing wavering confidence and uncertain investment, as well as dilemmas of an ethical nature. These problems can only be solved if the scientific and business communities, governments and the general public are able to reach, through debate, a common ground on science with respect to the service it should provide to society and, in return, a new commitment to science from society.

Stakeholders 

The conference addressed and involved national governments and institutions, educational and research establishments, members of the scientific community, the industrial sector, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and international scientific non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as the media and the general public. All stakeholders with a vested interest in science and its role in societal development were welcome as active participants in the conference process, although participation in the conference itself was by invitation only. A special role was played by the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, and those governmental and non-governmental bodies directly concerned with the scientific enterprise. At the conference, policy-makers, scientists and representatives of society in general together discussed the above issues and the means of increasing the commitment to, and from, science.

Preparatory phase  

The World Conference on Science was conceived as a process consisting of a preparatory phase, the conference itself and a vigorous follow-up programme. During the preparatory phase, UNESCO and ICSU invited their many partners to associate their conferences, meetings and other events with the conference in order to raise awareness on science and mobilize general debate worldwide.

A total of 69 meetings organized around the world between June 1995 and June 1999 were associated with the conference; the organizers of 52 of these meetings took up the invitation to submit a report containing recommendations to the World Conference on Science. In this way a wide range of scientists, decision-makers and representatives of the public were able to make an important input to the conference even if not attending the central event.^[1]

Moreover, the respected international science journal Nature contributed to the conference process by launching a dedicated website as a source of news about preparatory events and a forum for comment on the Budapest agenda from individuals in both industrialized and developing nations.

Programme

Main programme

The Conference programme was made up of three major forums:

• Forum I focused on a number of scientific topics of particular relevance and discussions were organized on a cross-disciplinary basis; it addressed the intellectual, institutional and economic challenges the scientific endeavour faces today and the ample opportunities that science offers for problem-solving in the years to come;
• Forum II examined the many interfaces between science and society at large and dealt with societal requirements and expectations, ethical issues and the public understanding of science;
• Forum III sought an increased commitment to science by governments, policy-makers and other partners, and obligations towards society on the part of the scientific community.

Forums I and II consisted of plenary sessions at which the broad issues were aired, followed by a total of 25 smaller concurrent thematic meetings spread over two days. Synthetic texts were prepared by ICSU (Science for the Twenty-First Century : Background Document), ICSU’s Standing Committee on Responsibility and Ethics in Science (Ethics and the Responsibility of Science) and by the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the ICSU Committee on Science and Technology for Development (COSTED) (Science for Development in the South) to serve as Background Documents to the discussions in Forums I and II.

Forum III consisted of a single plenary debate at which all stakeholders in science were invited to express their views. More than 100 National Delegations and a number of NGOs and IGOs took the floor to outline their vision of science in the twenty-first century.

Parallel meetings

In addition, a Special Forum of the International Scientific Programmes on Environment and Sustainable Development of UNESCO and ICSU was organized, as well as a number of ad hoc regional meetings and other events held ‘in parallel’ to the official conference programme to take advantage of the large numbers of ministers, high-ranking officials and internationally recognized scientists attending the conference. One example was the ad hoc consultation of NGOs involved in science. Many of these parallel meetings were expected to give fresh impetus to regional and sub-regional cooperation.

International Forum of Young Scientists

A number of satellite events involving stakeholders in science were hosted by the Hungarian Local Organizing Committee. These included an International Forum of Young Scientists (23-24 June 1999), which attracted 150 young scientists and pre-scientists from 57 countries. The  Statement of the Young Scientists adopted during the Conference contains a number of recommendations that were subsequently incorporated into the Conference’s two primary documents (see below). The forum was organised by UNESCO's Regional Office for Science and Technology for Europe with sponsorship from the Ministry of Education of Hungary, the Foundation for the Modernization of Public Education, the Hungarian Academy of Science, the Association of Hungarian PhD Students, LEAD and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ^[2]

Outcome  

Over 1800 delegates representing 155 countries, 28 intergovernmental organizations  (IGOs) and more than 60 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) registered at the World Conference on Science, including approximately 80 ministers of science and technology, research and education, or their equivalents. Slightly fewer than one in four national delegates to the conference were women. The conference also attracted more than 250 journalists from around the world, including a team from Nature which published a daily journal throughout the six-day conference.

The conference provided a rare opportunity for extensive discussion leading to a new ‘social contract’ for science on the even of the twenty-first century. The participants analysed where the natural sciences stand today and where they are heading, what their social impact has been and what society expects from them. They also established what efforts should be invested to make science advance in response to both these expectations and the challenges posed by human and social development.

The rationale for all-important follow-up to the conference by all partners and stakeholders in science, including the research community, government bodies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the industrial sector, is embodied in the two documents adopted by the conference (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) , namely the:

• Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge, which underscores the political commitment to the scientific endeavour and to the solution of problems at the interface between science and society;^[3]

• Science Agenda - Framework for Action, an innovative and pragmatic framework for fostering partnerships in science and the use of science for development and the environment.^[4]

Main principles enunciated in the Declaration

• There is an urgent need to use scientific knowledge from all fields in a responsible manner to address human needs and aspirations. The practice and use of science shoulds always aim at the welfare of humankind, present and future
• Fundamental and problem-oriented research are essential for achieving endogenous development.
• Appropriate education and research programmes in S&T, especially in developing countries, need sustained support from governments and the private sector.
• Science education at all levels and without discrimination is a fundamental requisite for democracy. Equality in access to science is not only a social and ethical requirement: it is a necessity for realizing the full human intellectual potential
• Expanded science literacy, ability and skills, and an appreciation of ethical values, are needed to improve public decision-making on science issues.
• Enhanced regional and international cooperation are needed to support scientific capacity building, especially in the small states and the least developed countries.
• New initiatives are required for interdisciplinary collaboration and for co-operation between different sectors involved in the production and use of scientific knowledge. The objective should be a move towards sustainable development strategies through integration of economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions.
• Use of information and communication technologies for free flow of knowledge should be expanded, with due respect for the diversity of cultures and plurality of expression.
• Intellectual property rights need to be protected on a global basis. Legal frameworks should meet the specific requirements of developing countries and traditional knowledge, its sources and products.

Follow-up 

The conference proceedings were published in 2000.^[5]

Although the follow-up to the conference was executed by many partners who retained responsibility for their own initiatives, UNESCO acted as a clearing house, in co-operation with ICSU. In 2001, UNESCO and ICSU jointly prepared an analytical report to governments and international partners on the returns of the conference, the execution of follow-up and further action to be taken.^[6]

The World Conference on Science led to the establishment of World Science Day for Peace and Development, which was celebrated for the first time in 2002.

In 2003, in follow-up to the Declaration and Framework for Action, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences offered to host a forum every two years around emerging global issues related to science, policy and society. The first World Science Forum took place in Budapest in 2003 on the theme of Knowledge and Society. In November 2009, the theme of the World Science Forum was a ten-year review of follow-up to the World Conference on Science. The forum analysed how many countries had adopted the new social contract for science over the previous decade and to what effect.

Every second forum is now held outside Hungary. In 2013, the World Science Forum was hosted by Brazil and, in 2017, by Jordan.

As follow-up to the International Forum of Young Scientists, a satellite event of the conference, the World Association of Young Scientists was created.

External links

World Conference on Science

References

1. ↑ UNESCO (2001). "Associated meetings". World Conference on Science. 
2. ↑ UNESCO Press (24 June 1999). "International Forum of Young Scientists in Budapest". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2017. 
3. ↑ "Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge". UNESCO. 1 July 1999. 
4. ↑ "Science Agenda - Framework for Action". UNESCO. 1 July 1999. 
5. ↑ Science for the 21st Century: a New Commitment. Proceedings of the World Conference on Science (PDF). UNESCO. 2000. 
6. ↑ Harnessing Science to Society. Analytical report to governments and international partners on the follow-up to the World Conference on Science (PDF). Paris: UNESCO and ICSU. 2001.