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Unesco publishes revised 'Science Agenda'
[LONDON] Governments attending the World Conference on Science in Budapest in ten days' time will be asked to endorse the creation or strengthening of science advisory bodies at both national and international levels, in order to anticipate problems areas likely to arise in areas such as human health.
Unesco urged to adopt 'consensus conferences'
[LONDON] Unesco should consider convening international consensus conferences on topical issues in science, according to a group of social and natural scientists who met in Paris at the end of April.
Australia backs more access to knowledge
[SYDNEY] Australia's delegation to the World Conference on Science in Budapest is expected to urge Unesco to prioritise access to knowledge for developing countries.
Science-based NGOs prepare
to make their mark
[LONDON] Invitations have been sent out to 150 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to attend the World Conference on Science in Budapest later this month. Most invitations have been sent to organizations of scientists, although Unesco officials say that other groups - such as environmentalist NGOs - are welcome to apply.
Science academies 'must take on ethics role'
[LONDON] Every academy of science throughout the world should set up a mechanism for studying and monitoring the ethical problems arising from modern science, according to physicist Sir Josef Rotblat, the Nobel peace prize winner in 1995.
Muslim science ministers plan joint science exhibition
[LONDON] Twenty science ministers from Muslim countries are expected to give their blessing at the World Conference on Science to plans for a major exhibition on science, technology and medicine in Islam.
100 ministers expected in Budapest
[LONDON] More than 100 ministers of science or education are expected to address the plenary session of the World Conference on Science in Budapest at the end of June, according to Unesco officials.
Australia pitches for top UNESCO job
[MELBOURNE] In a surprise move, Australia's conservative Coalition government announced on Monday (7 June) that it is nominating one of its main political opponents, Gareth Evans, as director general of Unesco when the post becomes vacant later this year. The move pitches Evans against a lengthy list of earlier nominations, in particular that from Japan, Koichiro Matsuura.
Web-based 'clearing house' planned
for women in science
[LONDON]An Internet-based gateway for women in science is to be officially launched at the World Conference of Science in Budapest at the end of this month.
Science partnerships 'must be of benefit to all sides'
[LONDON] Poor countries often learn little from international research partnerships that are linked to development aid and are dominated by researchers from developed countries, according to a report from a Netherlands development think tank.
Nobel Laureates in US delegation
[WASHINGTON] Three Nobel laureates, President Clinton's science adviser, the president of the National Academy of Sciences, two immediate past presidents of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a student from Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, are among a planned 12-strong US delegation to the World Conference on Science.
A cool wind blows from Sweden
[LONDON] Unesco is being prompted by Sweden's national commission to play a more pro-active role in the World Conference on Science by putting its weight behind calls for full public access to knowledge. The commission would also like to see social scientists play a greater role in Budapest than is currently planned.
India plans to demand compensation for effect of brain drain
[NEW DELHI]
India's delegation to the World Conference of Science plans to argue for compensation for the loss of trained manpower from developing to developed countries, according to the secretary of its Department of Science and technology.
Latin American women seek equal participation
[LONDON] A forum on women, science and technology in Latin America has demanded new policies and positive action to bring about the equal participation and professional development of women in science.
Draft declaration 'pays insufficient attention to women's issues'
[LONDON]
A major international organization concerned with the position of women in universities has criticized a draft of the declaration due to be adopted at the World Conference, arguing that it makes too little reference to issues relating to women in science.
US academy proposes global science advisory body
[WASHINGTON]
The US National Academy of Sciences is promoting plans for the creation of an InterAcademy Centre, intended to act as a mechanism for setting up and running international panels of top-level scientific, engineering and health experts.
Ethics commission seeks to 'blow the whistle'
[LONDON]
The role of Unesco's new Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology is to 'blow the whistle', according to its director-general, Vidgís Finnbogadóttir, speaking after the close of its first meeting in Oslo last month.
Unesco Pushing for a 'Decade for Science'
[LONDON]
Unesco is to lobby the United Nations general assembly to declare the first decade of the millennium as the decade for science, as a follow-up to the forthcoming World Conference on Science in June.
African scientists voice scepticism on conference outcome
[HAMMAMET, TUNISIA] Africa's leading scientists pledged this week to put forward gender equity, social responsibility, and the development of an 'indigenous component' in science as priority themes for discussion at the World Conference on Science.
How biotechnology could be Africa's route to riches
[HAMMAMET, TUNISIA] Africa-wide investment in biotechnology could be the continent's route to future economic prosperity, according to Thomas Odhiambo, the founder and outgoing president of the African Academy of Sciences.
Ethics panel head calls for a 'critical awareness of science'
[OSLO] 'Ethics in scientific knowledge and technology need to be in the forefront of all decision-making,' the first session of Unesco's new World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology was told yesterday.
Non-linear dynamics and sustainable development
[ROME] The study of non-linear dynamics offer "unexplored possibilities" for overcoming the current "stalemate" in knowing how to face the many threats facing modern civilization, according to a statement issued last month at the end of a study week organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Canadian students propose some 'principles for science'
[OTTAWA]
A group of graduate students at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, has produced a set of 21 'principles for science', intended as a contribution to the discussion leading up to the World Conference on Science, and described as "a declaration of interdependence for the 21st century".
Draft 'Science Agenda' gets a mixed response
[PARIS] A draft of the Science Agenda being proposed for endorsement at the conclusion of the World Conference on Science contains a long list of proposals for dealing with the social impacts of science. But the draft has received a lukewarm response from some delegates, who feel that it omits reference to key issues required to ensure the future health of science itself.
Modern barbarism 'increases need for scientific ethics'
[LONDON] Scientific progress has failed to halt the "barbarism" thriving throughout the world, a conference in Paris heard this week. The conference, whose conclusions will be presented to the World Conference on Science in Budapest in June, was intended to help re-establish dialogue between the sciences and the humanities.
Physics workshop calls for new 'contract' with society
[LONDON] A group of physicists has suggested that delegates attending the World Conference on Science in Budapest in June should promulgate a declaration affirming the need to protect and support curiosity-led physics.
UK science adviser calls for realistic projects
[LONDON] The British government's chief scientist, Sir Robert May, this week challenged the Unesco/ICSU World Conference on Science to produce more than "pious platitudes" and to agree on appropriately realistic and practical achievements.
International science communication centre proposed
[LONDON] Two British organizations are proposing the creation in London of an International Centre for the Communication of Science, to provide short training courses for science journalists, broadcasters and exhibition organizers from developing countries.
Attendance 'could hit 3000'
[LONDON] A strong response from countries keen to send full delegations to Budapest in June means that some officials now predict that attendance at the conference could reach 3000.
French scientists call for a new approach
[LONDON] Radical proposals for restructuring the scientific relations between developed and developing countries are made in a paper
released last week by a group of French scientists.
Students meet to debate sustainable development
[PARIS] More than 500 students from seven countries have taken part in a day long symposium on sustainable development.
Five international agencies agree to participate
[PARIS] Five international agencies will be officially represented at the World Conference on Science, to be held in Budapest, Hungary, next June, according to Unesco officials.
Arab states seek guidance on science ethics
[LONDON] Unesco should help countries to establish mechanisms that address the ethical implications of new discoveries in science, according to a conference of science policymakers from Arab states.
ICSU paper argues for more collaboration
[PARIS] The international community faces a major challenge in the next century in ensuring a division of labour that reflects the abilities of research groups and institutions to contribute to co-operative scientific projects rather than national interests, according to background paper released last week by the Paris-based International Council for Science (ICSU).
Africa seeks to link up science faculties
[LONDON] Science faculties from universities in six countries of East and Southern Africa have agreed to form a network to help develop research and higher education in poorer parts of the continent.
UNESCO seeks the views of youth on science
[LONDON] Unesco has launched an initiative to solicit the opinions of young people on items appearing on the conference agenda.
Women 'must participate in shaping science'
[CAPE TOWN] A new call for women to come to the forefront of shaping the scientific enterprise has come from the Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS) at a meeting held in preparation for the World Conference of Science
India seeks greater protection of indigenous knowledge
[BANGALORE] India is leading calls for Unesco to set up a global fund to conserve and promote knowledge systems that pre-date the scientific revolution.
Ten candidates line up to succeed Mayor
[LONDON] Ten prospective candidates are already lining up for the contest to succeed Federico Mayor as director general of Unesco in 2000. Current front runners are Ismail Serageldin, a vice president of the World Bank, and Ghazi Algosaibi, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to London
Rich countries 'must boost postgraduate training for Third World'
[ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA] Maurizio Iaccarino, Unesco's assistant director-general for science, last week urged industrialised nations to increase the number of postgraduate courses for scientists from the developing world.
Britain's Unesco plans still up in the air
[LONDON] Britain's preparation for participation in the World Conference on Science are being held up by a lack of agreement over how national activities relevant to Unesco should be organised and financed.
President's science adviser to head US delegation
[LONDON] The organizers of the World Conference have been given a boost by the news that Neal Lane, President Clinton's science adviser, is to head the US delegation.
'Science summit' sets ambitious agenda
[PARIS] Momentum gathering behind plans for a global 'science summit' next June appears to be fulfilling the organizers' hopes that it could be the most important international meeting on the relationship between science and politics for 20 years.
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