World Conference on Science : science for the twenty-first century a new commitment

Abstract

The natural sciences are enjoying a creative phase stemming from breakthroughs and advances in various fields. The emergence of new disciplines, the increasingly powerful computational tools, the rapid accumulation of scientific knowledge and the need to bring together the natural and social sciences, are having major implications on scientific research and education. At the same time, the regional or even global nature of many social and environmental problems makes it urgent to undertake a collective revision of the science agenda and to give a fresh impetus to international cooperation. It is a harsh reality that, while many of today's activities become global, more than 90 per cent of research continues to be conducted in the industrialized countries and the benefits remain beyond the reach of much of humankind. Convinced of the need for a fresh commitment to and from science, UNESCO and ICSU - International Council for Science - convened the World Conference on Science in Budapest in June 1999, after a worldwide preparatory process of consultation. Some 1800 representatives of government, the scientific community and other partners in science gathered in Budapest to decide what was required to make science more responsive to human and social needs and expectations and to secure public support for science education and research. This volume contains an edited selection of the main conference materials. Lectures and debate reports on a wide range of topics ranging from the value of fundamental research to the public perception of science, ethical issues, and new avenues for funding of science or for international cooperation, are presented, together with the science-society contract unanimously approved in the form of a Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge and a Science Agenda Framework for Action. The World Conference on Science was one step in a global process which concerns us all, for we all have a moral obligation to put science and its achievements to the service of humankind and to pass on to future generations a healthy environment and conditions for a decent standard of living. Achieving these goals calls for resolute political will on the one hand, and responsible scientific research and development of the other. Scientific representatives of civil society, members of government and policy-makers, industrialists, journalists, students - all readers alike - should find in this book a wealth of ideas, reflections, proposals and recommendations for constructive change.

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