Science and Technology for the Future,Contents, Preface ...

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We are also fortunate to have with us here the first Chairman of the United Nations Committee on Science and Technology for Development, Professor Mostermann of the Netherlands, as well as the present Chairman of this Committee, Mr. Lafer of Brazil, who will preside over the ten-year Review Session in August 1989 in New York. It is also a pleasure for me to greet the Chairman of the United Nations Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development, Dr. Sagast from Perou and the Chairman of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Science and Technology for Development, Mr. Araoz, Deputy Director-General of UNIDO and Dr. Trindade, Executive Director, UNCSTD. With the presence of so many highly experienced colleagues, I am confident that this colloquium will achieve its aim: to help us all better understand the aspirations, possibilities and also the disappointments of multilateral intergovernmental cooperation in science and technology. The aim of the colloquium is to make a useful contribution to the overall discussions by sparking off new dialogue and encouraging the international community as a whole to take a ‘fresh look’ at the status of science and technology co-operation on the eve of the closing decade of this century. A new momentum can and must be generated and I believe this meeting can provide interesting food for thought. This is the first time that we have brought together in one room, outside of the framework of the General Conference, representatives from practically all scientific disciplines. An increased interdisciplinary approach to Unesco’s various science programmes is one of my main aims in the years to come. Another is an accent on future-oriented works because I believe that prospective studies are essential within our fields of competence, where change is so rapid. Another special feature of this Colloquium is the presence of key representatives from other intergovernmental organizations inside and outside the United Nations System that are stakeholders in multilateral co-operation in science and technology, as wll as in environmental issues (United Nations, UNIDO, UNEP, OECD, Council of Europe, etc.). Furthermore, I do hope that the presence of representatives from UNDP, UNEP, the World Bank and some of the most bilateral donor agecies specializing in science and technology issues will lead to an interesting debate on financing science and technology for development. In this context, the statement of Mr. J. Wheeler, Chairman of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, is likely to be of particular interest. The involvement of leading representatives from industry is also vital to such a debate. I intend to set up soon a high-level industry-university consultation group to foster closer interaction between these two important sectors of society and Unesco’s programmes. I am very glad to see here the Presidents of the Academies of Sciences of our hosty country, France the United States, the Soviet Union, India and Bulgaria. My particular thanks go to Drs. Frank Press and Guri Martchuk, whose presence in our midst is 8
particularly significant and a visible demonstration that the world science community is a single and united one. I am also delighted that we have with as the Presidents of the World Academy of Sciences and the African and the European Academy of Sciences, as well as the Presidents of the European Science Foundation, the Club of Rome, the World Federation of Scientific Workers as well as the Deputy Director of IIASA. I am sure that the results of this Colloqium will be of value to Dr. Rosenblith, in the preparation of ICSU’s Conference on ‘International Science and its Partners’. For Unesco’s partnership with the world engineering community through the World Federation of Engineering Organizations and the Union of International Technical Associations, is equally important. The Presidents and Secretaries-General of both organizations as well as the Secretary-General of the European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA) are with us. We have intentionally opened the doors of this colloquium to the media and to the scientific attachés and advisers of delegations in Paris to UNESCO, the OECD and the Government of France. They can all serve as important relays in the dissemination of the message this colloquium will define. My own ‘message’, based on the experience gained in the decade since the Vienna Conference is threefold: • First, the ‘knowledge gap’, not only between developed and developing countries but among the developing countries themselves, ist fast increasing. In order to prevent a further delinking of more than two-thirds of the countries of the world from the dynamics of science and technology, a special United Nations system-wide effort is needed, calling for concerted action on the United Nations specialized agencies in close co-operation with UNDP, the World Bank, the regional development banks and, last but not least, the bilateral agencies. • My second point relates to human resources development, which should be central to our deliberations. There is, in most nations, developed and developing alike, a shortage of scientists and engineers. The promotion of basic science education and advanced training to prepare future generations of scientists, engineers and technical personnel, and the drive to enhance international mobility among such people, should have the highest possible support. The systematic expansion of existing networks between the universities and between the scientists of the world would be a most effective approach. Ten years ago at the Vienna Conference, the creation of endogenous capacities for science and technology as well as a massive transfer of financial resources was the main focus of the discussions. These issues have not lost one iota of their importance in the time-span since Vienna; quite the contrary. • A third element has emerged since, which is the need for a scientifictechnological underpinning of all issues concerning the ‘global commons’. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of ensuring that decision-makers are 9
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