In Focus 2008

Rejuvenating Islamic science

Why did Islamic science decline centuries ago and how can it rise again? This was the central question of a conference organized in Kazan on 25-29 August by the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Islamic World Academy of Sciences headquartered in Amman and UNESCO. The conference had as its theme Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for Sustainable Development in the Islamic World: Policies and Politics of Rapprochement. (More).

UNESCO nominated to AMCOST

UNESCO has been nominated to the Steering Committee of the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST), the body which defines the African Union’s agenda for science and technology within the framework of the Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action to 2010 (CPA). With this decision on 2 May, UNESCO becomes the only UN agency to be nominated to the AMCOST Steering Committee. The move comes in recognition of UNESCO’s contribution over the past year to implementing the CPA.

SUNESCO has been also elected Rapporteur of the new African Cluster for Science and Technology. The cluster was launched on 18 July by the African Union, in order to improve pan-African coordination and thereby avoid duplication and wastage of resources in implementation of the CPA.

For details on how UNESCO is contributing to Africa’s Science and Technology Consolidated Plan to 2010, click here.

ECOSOC High Level Segment, UNESCO hosts Ministerial Roundtable Breakfast on
Science, Technology and Innovation policy: key to sustainable development

The Director General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, hosted a Breakfast Round Table at the High Level Segment of the 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.

Speakers :
Prof. Peter Msolla, Minister for Communications, Science and Technology
Dr. Hany Helal, Minister of Higher Education and State for Scientific Research

(More)

An International Centre for South-South Co-operation in Science, Technology and Innovation

The International Centre for South-South Co-operation in Science, Technology and Innovation was inaugurated on 22 May in Kuala Lumpur by the Malaysian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. The launch was also an occasion for the centre’s Governing Board to meet. The Board comprises members from a score of countries, most of them from the South.

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Improving science policy conditions in Africa

The United Nations Science and Technology Cluster was established in May 2003 at a regional meeting which designated UNESCO as the Convener and the UN Commission for Africa (UNECA) as the Vice-Convener of the inter-agency Cluster. The Cluster promotes coherence and coordination among 13 agencies within the United Nations system in support of Africa’s Science & Technology Consolidated Plan of Action to 2010. The plan was endorsed by the African Union in 2006. The following year, UNESCO’s General Conference approved the launch of an African Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Initiative as part of the Organization’s contribution to the plan.

More on the UN Science & Technology Cluster
More on the African Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Initiative

Science and technology parks governance: a key to development

Some 95% of new science is created in countries comprising just one-fifth of the world population. This imbalance generates serious problems not only for the scientific community in developing countries but also for the economic development of these countries. Today, the frontiers between the functions of university, industry and government are blurring. Each institution can assume the role of the other: the university can take on the role of industry, helping to form business incubators; government can support new developments in industry through funding programmes and changes in the regulatory environment; industry can take on the role of the university by developing training and research. UNESCO is promoting the development of science and technology parks in developing countries to make sure they are part of this transformation. (More)

Policies to improve land use around Aral Sea

The Government of Uzbekistan hosted an international conference in Tashkent on 11 and 12 March on the impact of the Aral Sea’s problems on the human population and the region’s biodiversity. The rapid development of irrigation systems over the past forty years has overstretched the Aral Sea’s ecosystem, driving climate change, desertification and salinization, and polluting freshwater. This has curbed biodiversity, eroded fertile land, turned former ports into ship cemeteries and favoured the development of chronic diseases like tuberculosis and lung cancer. Within an ongoing project involving the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and UNESCO, an integrated concept developed by science policy experts for restructuring land use is currently being tested in real-life situations on farms and at institutions in Khorezm and Tashkent in Uzbekistan. (More)

Science, Technology and Parliament

The Parliament of Congo and the Congolese National Commission for UNESCO organized a sub-regional symposium on 11 and 12 March, with the technical and financial assistance of UNESCO and the financial contribution of the Islamic Organization for Science, Education and Culture (ISESCO). The theme of the symposium was Science, Technology and Parliament. On 13 March, scientific visits were organized to present Congo's capacities in research and innovation. This was be followed by an interparliamentary workshop on 14 March. (More)