World Science Day for Peace and Development

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.

This year, the major event took place in Mexico City from 10 to 13 November 2008, to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). Highlights of the celebration included a wide-ranging series of symposia focusing on genes and human health, the state of mathematics, the growth of the knowledge economy in the developing world, megacities in the South, nanoscience, physics, and climate change and so on. There was also a ministerial forum examining strategies for enhancing South-South cooperation in science, technology and innovation. Read the programme.

Read the Director-General’s message to mark the occasion of World Science Day.
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Hippocratic Oath for Scientists

10 November
On the occasion of the World Science Day for Peace and Development 2008, a meeting on the 20th anniversary of the Hippocratic Oath for Scientists will be held on 10 November 2008 at the School of Exact and Natural Sciences, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event will be organized by the UNESCO Office in Montevideo and Regional Bureau for Science in Latin America and the Caribbean, in cooperation with the authorities of the School of Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires, the National Committee of Ethics for Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology of Argentina) and INES (International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility).

The meeting will mark the 20th anniversary of the official instauration -within the school of sciences- of a Hippocratic Oath for Scientists during the graduation ceremonies (Buenos Aires Oath). This Oath was taken internationally as an example of self-regulating behaviour within the scientific community and the wish of several scientists to use their knowledge only for the benefit of humankind.

Read the programme of the meeting

In focus

Official Statements