Steve Kurtz wrote:
> FYI. (posted to pol-sci-tech by Ian Pitchford)
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2 JULY 1999
> UNESCO
> http://www.unesco.org/
>
> World Conference on Science adopts declaration
>
> Budapest, Hungary, July 2 - The World Conference on Science ended its
> six-day
> meeting by adopting a Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific
> Knowledge, as well as a Science Agenda - Framework for Action to
> implement the
> principles of the Declaration. The adopted Declaration is a political
> commitment to wide-ranging principles for promoting and carrying out
> science
> and technology in the long term. With the Framework for Action, the
> Declaration
> gives guidance - with concrete proposals - to orient policy on crucial
> issues
> in science on the eve of the 21st century.
>
> By adopting the Declaration, national delegations gave their political
> commitment to three major, over-arching principles to guide science
> policy:
> science for knowledge/knowledge for progress, science for peace and
> science for
> development. Of these three, by far the most attention was devoted to
> science
> for development. "Today more than ever, science and its applications are
> indispensable for development," says the Declaration. And to foster
> this, it
> emphasises the need for investment in science education and scientific
> research, both by the private and public sectors. Above all, says the
> Declaration, "there is a responsibility of the developed world to
> enhance
> partnership activities in science with developing countries and
> countries in
> transition."
>
> While the benefits of science for development are now obvious, the
> Declaration
> points out that "most of these benefits are unevenly distributed, as a
> result
> of structural asymmetries among countries, regions and social groups and
> between the sexes." Through the Declaration, governments agree there is
> a need
> to promote more equitable access to science and to the benefits it
> brings, with
> greater involvement of girls and women. In particular, it says, "it is
> essential that the fundamental role played by women in the application
> of
> scientific development to food production and health care be fully
> recognised,
> and efforts made to strengthen their understanding of scientific
> advances in
> this area. It is on this platform that science education, communication
> and
> popularisation need to be built."
>
> The Declaration is careful to emphasise that, while science has great
> potential
> for good, it can also affect quality of life, whether through
> environmental
> degradation, exclusion or the invention and use of weapons of war. This
> is why
> it stresses the need for ethical principles. "Scientific research and
> the use
> of scientific knowledge should respect human rights and the dignity of
> human
> beings," it says, "in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human
> Rights
> and in the light of the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and
> Human
> Rights."
>
> The Declaration also aims to sensitise stakeholders in science to the
> barriers
> "which have precluded the full participation of other groups, of both
> sexes,
> including disabled people, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities."
> And, if
> adopting the Declaration provides the political fuel, it is the Science
> agenda - framework for action that shows the itinerary. The issue of
> inequality
> in science is taken up in the Framework of action, particularly in the
> section
> on follow-up, which lists concrete actions. Regarding gender inequality
> in the
> field of science, the Framework calls on all stakeholders in science to
> consider a list of priority issues. These include promoting the access
> of girls
> and women to science education, improving conditions of recruitment,
> weeding
> out gender stereotypes and discrimination and establishing an
> international
> network of women scientists. Similarly, the Framework aims to sensitise
> stakeholders to their duties to remove barriers to other disadvantaged
> groups,
> whether in education or research.
>
> The Framework for Action expects governments to commit adequate funds
> over the
> long term for science and technology education and research. And while
> the
> adopted Framework does not give target figures, during the Conference,
> UNESCO
> Director General, Federico Mayor, had suggested a minimum target of 0.3
> percent
> or 0.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product from a country's own funds.
> Countries
> that invest most earmark between 2.5 percent and 3 percent.
>
> A Framework for Action of this kind is necessarily broad, but it
> contains more
> tangible recommendations - with some measurable effects - than some
> sceptics
> had expected. Without denying the positive contribution of the private
> sector,
> says the action plan, governments should commit public funds, especially
> to
> basic research in areas that are relevant to national and regional
> needs. The
> Framework also underlines the urgency of pooling research funds and
> skills to
> tackle global issues, especially those concerning freshwater
> availability,
> renewable energies, environmental issues and global warming. Where a
> particular
> environmental issue is shared by bordering countries, they should work
> together, says the Framework.
>
> Where a country has few scientists in an area, there are many
> mechanisms, like
> networks and exchanges schemes, as well as international joint research
> projects, that can help create critical mass. Meanwhile, the Declaration
> refers
> to a recent G8 country initiative to reduce the debt burden on
> developing
> countries as being "conducive to a joint effort by the developing and
> developed
> countries" to fund science.
>
> The Framework for Action aims to sensitise stakeholders in science to
> the
> crucial roles of science education and communication about science in
> promoting
> both understanding and participation of issues that increasingly affect
> us all.
>
> "Governments should accord highest priority to the improvement of
> science
> education at all levels" says the Framework for Action, "with particular
> attention to the elimination of the gender bias and bias against
> disadvantaged
> groups, raising public awareness of science and fostering its
> popularisation."
>
> It suggests setting up "an international programme on Internet-enabled
> science
> and vocational education and teaching" to "bring high-quality science
> education
> to remote locations." It also calls for more and better facilities for
> training
> journalists and communicators, on the one hand, while including science
> communication training as part of a scientist's education, on the other.
>
> The Framework also emphasises the increasingly important role that
> scientists
> have in advising governments on policy. "Scientists and scientific
> bodies
> should consider it an important responsibility to provide independent
> advice to
> the best of their knowledge," it says. The document also recommends that
> UNESCO
> publish a World Technology Report as a companion to its present World
> Science
> Report, "in order to provide a balanced world opinion on the impact of
> technology on social systems and culture."
>
> In the new context for science at the turn of the century, universities
> have
> also joined the economic playing field, joining the trend to patent
> commercially relevant results. The complex issues of intellectual
> property
> rights that commercial interests raise, also get attention, both those
> inherent
> in new discoveries and those inherent in traditional knowledge. The
> Declaration
> calls for "a need to further develop appropriate national legal
> frameworks to
> accommodate the specific requirements of developing countries and
> traditional
> knowledge, sources and products."
>
> At the same time, the Framework for Action emphasises that access to
> data and
> information is essential for scientific progress. It calls on "an
> appropriate
> international legal framework," such as the World Intellectual Property
> Organisation (WIPO) to work with international organisations to
> "constantly
> address the question of knowledge monopolies." Meanwhile the World Trade
> Organisation should define tools "aimed at financing the advancement of
> science
> in the South with the full involvement of the scientific community."
> UNESCO and
> ICSU are asked to play "a catalytic role" by improving data
> compatibility and
> easing access to scientific knowledge.
>
> It is also in this field of the commercialisation of the fruits of
> scientific
> research, particularly in the biological sciences, that ethical issues
> come to
> the surface. "Ethics and responsibility should be an integral part of
> the
> education and training of all scientists," says the Framework for
> Action.
> "Young scientists should be appropriately encouraged to respect and
> adhere to
> the basic ethical principles and responsibilities of science," it
> continues.
> Here, UNESCO's World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge
> and
> Technology (COMEST), with ICSU's Standing Committee on Responsibility
> and
> Ethics of Sciences (SCRES) have a role to play in follow-up.
>
> Developing countries, particularly those with rich biodiversity and
> traditional
> knowledge built up over countless generations on how to use plants and
> animal
> products for therapeutic purposes, need special protection from
> exploitation by
> wealthy industrial companies from the North. But also under threat is
> the
> extinction of the complex systems of knowledge within which these
> natural
> products were derived and within which they are used. "Countries should
> promote
> better understanding and use of traditional knowledge systems," says the
> Framework, "instead of focusing only on extracting the elements for
> their
> perceived utility to the science and technology system." The Framework
> envisages both governmental and non-governmental organisations playing a
> role
> in conserving these traditional knowledge systems.
>
> ###
> The Framework for Action envisages several roles for UNESCO and ICSU -
> its
> partner in convening the Conference - in the follow-up to the
> Conference. One
> of them is to act as a clearing house to coordinate implementation of
> the
> Framework for Action.
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