World leaders at a special event of the United Nations General Assembly, on May 24, 2023, reiterated their commitments to supporting the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD). Watch the video here.
The special event on 24th May 2023, convened under the auspices of the President of the General Assembly, to celebrate the International Year at the UNHQ facilitated an exchange between experts and delegates on how basic sciences, together with other sciences and technology, can help building a new approach for the solution of global challenges, centered on sciences for sustainability.
The event consisted of a panel discussion, followed by an interactive segment.
Key questions raised at the event include:
- The possible contribution of basic sciences to crisis management and mitigate/eliminate the impact of extreme events on society.
- How basic sciences can help the transformation towards sustainability, with a focus on how science can enhance its contribution to the definition of global strategies and their validation.
- What is the practical applicability of basic sciences and of its collaborative and operational models for deliberations in the UN and policy development?
- How can basic sciences function as catalysts of multilateral trust and cooperation, in collaboration with other sciences, humanities, and technology?
The interactive discussion was an opportunity for Member States, Observers, the UN System and ECOSOC-accredited NGOs to exchange with the scientific community.
National delegates of Romania, Spain, South Africa, Honduras, Serbia, Bahrain, Ecuador, Russian federation, Paraguay, Guatemala, Armenia, and Argentina, unanimously agreed that sustainable development will be difficult to achieve, without harnessing the potential of basic sciences.
They however, individually pledged their countries’ commitment to continuously support the IYBSSD initiative, till the curtain of the international year is drawn.
Watch the video of the special event here…
