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The Director General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, hosted a Breakfast Round Table at the High Level Segment of the
United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), New York, 1 July 2008, on the theme: Science, Technology and Innovation Policy : Key to Sustainable Development. The ECOSOC Ambassador from Madagascar, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research from Egypt and the Minister of Communication, Science and Technology of Tanzania were invited speakers. The meeting was attended by over 50 representatives from diplomatic missions, research institutions, NGOs, civil society, the media and the private sector. The UNESCO Round Table debate focused on harnessing scientific knowledge through effective science policy as a key lever for achieving sustainable development in its Member States. A lively debate ensued with interactive participation from all stakeholders, who recognized the pivotal role that effective Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy could play in contributing to the effort to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically in relation to the eradication of poverty.
The theme of the June-July 2008 ECOSOC was devoted to sustainable development. Science and technology influence society as never before. UNESCO has been active in promoting sustainable development through the application of science and technology by strengthening national STI policies and programs and integrating sustainable development priorities into national science policies. UNESCO has a long standing experience in advising Member States on STI policy. Increasingly, Member States (MS) turn to STI as a means to reduce poverty and fast track economic growth. This of course requires a major reform of national STI systems. The Director General of UNESCO has made it a priority to strengthen its role as an advisor to governments on the development and reform of national STI systems. To date, UNESCO, through its Division for Science Policy and Sustainable Development, has assisted some 20 Members States primarily in Africa, but also in Asia and Europe, on STI policy review and reformulation.
The Ministerial Roundtable Breakfast focused on mobilizing scientific knowledge and STI policy for sustainable development. The Director General of UNESCO, Government Ministers and High Level Representatives focused the discussion on the following elements relating to STI policy: status of country specific establishment of STI policy, main challenges in the context of developing national STI policy and the importance of evidence based STI policy making based on credible STI data (statistics and indicator). In close cooperation with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the Regional Economic Commissions, UNESCO holds regional training workshops on capacity building for STI policy analysts. H.E. Dr. Hany Helal, Minister of Higher Education and
Scientific Research of the Arab Republic of Egypt, stressed the “access to information, patents and costs as a major obstacle for scientists in the developing countries”. According to H.E. Professor Peter Msolla, Minister of Communication, Science, Technology of the United Republic of Tanzania, even though the target set by the African Union for spending on R&D was set at 1% of GDP, in many African countries the underfunding of research, the low level of women participation in science and the decreased numbers of the young scientists were some of the reasons for not achieving targets in Africa.
The Director General underlined the important role played by a number of UNESCO institutes and centers such as the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, the International Genetics and Biotechnology Institute in Cape Town, TWAS and the recently launched International Centre for South-South Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation in Kuala Lampur. He concluded by assuring the participants of UNESCO’s commitment to placing S&T at the heart of sustainable development.
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Flash Info N° 087-2008
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Science Policy
