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World Science Day
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. In his message, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura observes that, ‘at this time of global economic and environmental distress, one of the most hopeful signs for the future is the push for a transition to a green economy.’
Read the Director-General’s message
English -
Français -
Español -
Русский -
العربية -
中文
More.
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New Director for Division of Science Policy and Sustainable Development
13 November - Former Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Mozambique, Lidia Brito has been appointed Director of the Division of Science Policy and Sustainable Development at UNESCO. Born in 1961, she holds a PhD in Forest Science (1994) and has published numerous articles and publications on education and development. Since June 2008, Ms Brito has been employed as a Senior Consultant at Eurosis, a consultancy firm in Maputo (Mozambique) specializing in strategic planning, knowledge management systems training and capacity-building in project management. Prior to this, she was Advisor for Strategic Planning and External Relations for the City of Maputo. Ms Brito is a member of the Executive Board of the UNESCO-IHE Institute of Water Education (Delft) and of the Council of the United Nations University. She takes up her new functions on 1 December 2009.
Read an interview of Lidia Brito published in UNESCO’s journal, A World of Science, in 2004 during her term of office as Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology.
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Launch of Consortium for Science in the South
5 November - The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the Group of 77 officially launched the Consortium of Science, Technology and Innovation in the South (COSTIS) on 4 November, during a ministerial roundtable at the start of the World Science Forum. The launch fulfills the promise of the Declaration adopted by ministers at the First Summit of the G77 and China in Havana (Cuba) in 2004.
(More).
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Two astrophysicists win Kalinga Prize for Popularization of Science
29 October - In this, the International Year of Astronomy, it is fitting that UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science should have been won by two astrophysicists: Professor Yash Pal from India and Professor Trinh Xuan Thuan from Viet Nam. The prize will be awarded by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura at the World Science Forum in Budapest (Hungary) on 5 November. (More).
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President of Tanzania welcomes UNESCO’s participation in ‘Delivering as One’
22 October - In addressing UNESCO’s 193 Member States during the General Conference on 19 October, President Karume of the United Republic of Tanzania took stock of the existing cooperation between UNESCO and Tanzania, highlighting upstream policy advice and the capacity-building of Tanzanian institutions and human resources. He particularly welcomed UNESCO’s participation in the reform of the United Nations, he said, which is ‘Delivering as One’ in Tanzania through UNESCO’s Cluster Office in Dar es Salaam. He also observed that UNESCO was leading the review of Tanzania’s national science and technology policy. (Read about the launch of this project in December 2008).
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R&D intensity growing in many countries
16 October - From 2002 to 2007, world expenditure on research and development (R&D) rose by as much as 44% in absolute terms, from an estimated PPP$788.5 billion to PPP$1137.9 billion, according to the latest fact sheet by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. In relative terms, however, the share of world GDP devoted to R&D has remained stable, at 1.7%. The GERD/GDP ratio has nevertheless increased markedly in 62 out of the 106 countries for which data are available. R&D intensity has even more than doubled in 14% of the countries surveyed, including China, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Thailand and Tunisia. In around 20% of countries, R&D intensity has remained stable, although it has fallen considerably in 24 countries (23%). (More).
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Science and Technology Park Governance
11–14 November - Every year, international training workshops are run by UNESCO in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, in close cooperation with the World Technopolis Association. The one this month will be on the theme of Science Park and Technology Business Incubator Governance. More on science parks.
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R&D Management for High Level Decision-Makers
16–20 November - The Centre for South-South Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation (ISTIC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is organizing a training workshop on R&D Management for High Level Decision-Makers in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The workshop is being run in cooperation with the Korean Institute for Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning. This follows an earlier international training workshop on Assessing Industrial Needs to Help Develop a Sustainable and Productive Science and Technology Policy, in Kuala Lumpur from 22 to 26 June 2009. ISTIC was launched in May 2008 under the auspices of UNESCO. More on ISTIC.
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4th African Ministerial Council for Science and Technology (AMCOST)
5-12 December - Together with the Heads of State of the African Union, AMCOST is the highest-decision making body on science and technology in Africa. UNESCO is the only UN body to be nominated to AMCOST. For details, click here or contact the UNESCO focal point.
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Science Policy
