Celebrated each year on 10 November, World Science Day for Peace and Development provides an opportunity to shine the spotlight on the contribution science makes to achieving sustainable development and enhancing the prospects for peace.
This year, the major event will be take place in Mexico City from 10 to 13 November 2008, to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). Highlights of the celebration will include a wide-ranging series of symposia focusing on genes and human health, the state of mathematics, the growth of the knowledge economy in the developing world, megacities in the South, nanoscience, physics, and climate change and so on. There will also be a ministerial forum examining strategies for enhancing South-South cooperation in science, technology and innovation.
Established by UNESCO in 2001, World Science Day for Peace and Development is celebrated worldwide on 10 November each year. The Day is an occasion to recall UNESCO's mandate and commitment to science.
This annual event was instigated as follow-up to the World Conference on Science World Conference on Science, organized jointly by UNESCO and the International Council on Science in Budapest (Hungary) in 1999. The Day offers an opportunity to reaffirm each year our commitment to attaining the goals proclaimed in one of the twin documents adopted by the World Conference on Science: the Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge and to follow up the recommendations contained in the Conference’s Science Agenda: Framework for Action.
What is World Science Day for Peace and Development ?
Established by UNESCO in 2001, World Science day for Peace and Development is celebrated on 10 November each year. The Day is an occasion to recall UNESCO's mandate and commitment to science.
The World Science Day for Peace and Development's objectives are:
* To strengthen public awareness of the role of science in promoting peaceful and sustainable societies
* To promote national and international solidarity for the sharing of science between countries
* To renew national and international commitment to the use of science for the benefit of society
* To draw attention to the challenges faced by science and raise support for the scientific endeavour.
Established by UNESCO in 2001, World Science Day for Peace and Development is celebrated worldwide on 10 November each year. The Day is an occasion to recall UNESCO's mandate and commitment to science.
This annual event was instigated as follow-up to the World Conference on Science World Conference on Science, organized jointly by UNESCO and the International Council on Science in Budapest (Hungary) in 1999. The Day offers an opportunity to reaffirm each year our commitment to attaining the goals proclaimed in one of the twin documents adopted by the World Conference on Science: the Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge and to follow up the recommendations contained in the Conference’s Science Agenda: Framework for Action.
The rationale behind celebrating World Science Day each year is rooted in the need for a new social contract for science, one which acknowledges the importance of the role science and scientists play in creating sustainable societies and which ensures that citizens are kept informed of developments in science and empowered to participate in science. In this sense, World Science Day helps to show the general public why science is relevant to their daily lives and engage them in debate on related issues.
Since its inception, World Science Day has also generated concrete projects and built bridges between science and society. Partners such as UNESCO's National Commissions, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, scientific research institutions, professional associations, the media, science teachers and schools have been involved in celebrating World Science Day each year, thereby contributing to its success. At governmental level, several ministries have announced a fresh commitment to raising spending on science; others have used the Day to launch a new science policy programme involving scientific institutions, civil society, universities and schools.
World Science Day for Peace and Development has also generated projects fostering scientific cooperation between scientists living in regions marred by conflict. One example is the the creation of the Israeli-Palestinian Science Organization ( IPSO).
The World Science Forum marks World Science Day in odd years.
Fuentes:
http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/ev.php-URL_ID=6862&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://www.unesco.org/science/psd/wsd08/about_en.shtml
http://www.unesco.org/science/psd/thm_popul/wsdpd.shtml