.jpg)
The main theme of the 2015 Forum was “The Enabling Power of Science” reflecting on the way how science opens new paths for the improvement of human life, business innovation and policy making. The meeting was joined by over 900 participants from more than 100 countries of the world. The participants were renowned scientists, policy makers, politicians, stakeholders, media personals and young scientists.
Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, opened four days of events, addressing a large audience of diplomats, global science stakeholders and key influencers. President of World Science Forum and of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Lászlo Lovász called upon delegates to do more to accelerate the accumulation, use and diffusion of scientific knowledge and its application in technological innovations capable of reshaping our world for the better. Accentuating the positive, he remarked that: “science is enabling us to confront hunger and disease, to tackle our ever-growing demand for energy and to connect and communicate with immediate effect, while providing the social and economic foundations for an improved quality of life for ever-increasing numbers of people. We should be proud of these achievements”.
On the first day of the event, over 50 early career researchers from 30 different countries convened by IAP, WAYS, ICORSA, GYA and UNESCO gathered to analyze challenges and opportunities facing young scientists globally, identify strategies that link global challenges to career opportunities, and present policy recommendations to empower young scientists to impact the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The session highlighted the importance of science and technology as tools for economic growth, social inclusion and regional integration in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. The four organizations representing young scientists around the world came together for the first time to present a unified voice for the emerging international young scientists movement, which is demanding a seat at the table in policy discussions and decision making that require scientific input.
It is expected that the legacy of WSF 2015 will be an unequivocal wake-up call to scientists and science diplomats to better understand the impacts climate change will have on the natural and social systems of the earth. In this regard, the conference will make a special plea for greater empowerment of scientists to hold decision-makers to account for the targets they set as legally binding agreements on climate.
Secondly, conference leaders will call for a greater application of scientific solutions in areas of disaster risk reduction and resilience building to natural and human made disasters, particularly in areas of dense populations.
Thirdly, conference leaders will applaud and support recent global trends towards a more pronounced use of science in policy-making and the efforts to bridge the difficulties inherent in the roles of scientists and policy-makers which must allow for greater stakeholder inclusion.
Fourthly, conference leaders will call for more to be done to tackle inequalities between countries and regions. WSF welcomes the strong participation of delegates from many African, Asian and Latin American countries here to promote cooperation and integration to build and accumulate capacities to harness and govern modern sciences. Despite clear advances in a number of emerging economies and societies in transition, the knowledge and economic divide is widening, thus curbing the potential of science and technology to contribute to global human and economic development.
Finally, in deciding to host WSF 2017 in Jordan after a successful event in Brazil in 2013, the organising parties are building knowledge and facilitating integration in those countries and regions that need it most.
5 Scientists participated from Pakistan in World Science Forum meeting including Prof. Shoukat Hameed (Coordinator General COMSTECH), Prof. Dr. Manzoor H. Soomro (President ECO Science Foundation), Dr. Akhyar Farukh (Associate Professor and Registrar GCU, Lahore), Dr. Muhammad Ansar (Associate Professor and Chairman Biochemistry Department, QAU, Islamabad) and Dr. Aftab Ahmad (President NAYS Pakistan).