World Science Day for Peace and Development
Celebrated every 10 November, World Science Day for Peace and Development highlights the important role of science in society and the need to engage the wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues. It also underlines the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.
By linking science more closely with society, World Science Day for Peace and Development aims to ensure that citizens are kept informed of developments in science. It also underscores the role scientists play in broadening our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planet we call home and in making our societies more sustainable.
What UNESCO does for science, peace and development
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Science, a human right
Everyone has a right to participate in and benefit from science. We must find ways to improve access to science and to the benefits of science for sustainable development.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. Article 27 states that:
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers
The UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers is an important standard-setting instrument which not only codifies the goals and value systems by which science operates, but also emphasizes that these need to be supported and protected if science is to flourish. A first Recommendation was adopted in 1974, and a revised Recommendation was adopted on 13 November 2017, superseding the 1974 text. This Recommendation has a particular value today, including for developing countries in building up their scientific skills and institutions.
The Recommendation upholds the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - that everyone has the right to participate in and benefit from science - and provides a useful checklist of political and institutional requirements to ensure access to science education, and fundamental rights such as the right to be a scientists, to protect intellectual property, to share scientific advancements and accademic freedom.
- UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers
Science for Peace: a message from UNESCO Special envoy HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan
From the universe expanding to the phones in our pockets, science is everywhere. Each year, on 10 November, the World Science day for Peace and Development helps us remember this fact and offers an opportunity for everyone to engage in scientific debates and activities.
The Day marks an occasion to mobilize all actors around the topic of science for peace and development – from government officials to the media to school pupils. By linking science more closely with society, science is made accessible to all and broadens our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planet we call home. It becomes also a more solid stepping-stone towards making our societies more sustainable.
Since its proclamation by UNESCO in 2001, World Science Day for Peace and Development has generated many concrete projects, programmes and funding for science around the world. The Day has also helped foster cooperation between scientists living in regions marred by conflict, one example being the UNESCO-supported creation of the Israeli-Palestinian Science Organization (IPSO).