Science, technology and innovation can do more in our knowledge-based economy

    Facing poverty and strengthening democratic governance constitute the main objectives of the Fourth Summit of the Americas, to take place next November in Argentina. The first difficulty will be to produce a realistic, yet pragmatic, plan of action that could guide the Heads of States to build a better future for the citizens of the Americas. One contribution is fundamental: Science, Technology and Innovation will have to be essential components, if we want to reach the goal of reducing poverty in our knowledge-based economy. Scientific awareness is a MUST for all citizens, in particular for the leaders of our societies, as proclaims the Declaration of Panama (see page 593 of this issue).

    The Declaration of Panama contains the actions and recommendations adopted by 11 member associations present at the recent Council meeting of the Interciencia Association. These were also approved by other associations of the region during the one-day meeting convened last September 5th by the OAS Office of Education, Science and Technology in Buenos Aires, within the framework of discussion for the Fourth Summit.

    Extensive use of science and local application of the most efficient technology require the building and maintenance of a national capacity in S&T. Education at all levels, for women and men, is a responsibility of each nation. It is why the Interciencia members have submitted, as their first recommendation and the corner-stone, the accessibility to scientific information for all citizens. Its recognition must become a new fundamental right emblematic of this millennium. This new right follows the letter and the spirit of the Charter of the OAS. Moreover, it could be considered "priority of the moment" in view of the strong will-power expressed in the preparatory documents of the Fourth Summit.

    The financial cost and disastrous social effects of ignorance are well documented and demonstrated in labor, public health and the environment. Science illiteracy, due to a deficient education, is often associated with poverty and bad hygienic conditions, which are amongst the causes of unemployment. Without easy access to S&T information, it is difficult for local entrepreneurs to innovate and create jobs and, hence, to deliver the benefits of science to workers and their families. Democratic governance cannot be strengthened in our institutions involving citizens’ participation without an easy access to S&T information as offered by Internet. Be it our governments or any non-governmental institutions, a science input is essential and inseparable from their decision-making process and is therefore essential for democratic governance.

    This new right of accessibility to scientific information imposes the duty on our governments to promote rigorous information and the critique of S&T itself about its humane use in a social context. This can be achieved only with the presence of local expertise. For those reasons and as a corollary of the new fundamental right of accessibility to scientific information, the Interciencia Association strongly supports the approach to poverty reduction in the hemisphere, which takes advantage of S&T, Innovation and Engineering, and their centrality for the construction and maintenance of a knowledge-based society, inclusive of women and men.

    By signing the Declaration of Panama, the 11 member associations reiterate the commitment of their scientific communities to aid more effectively the development of the nations and the welfare of their people. The declaration is in continuity with the role played by the Interciencia Association since its creation in 1974, as an agora of ideas for the scientists through symposia, technical exchanges and interventions in political forums, as well as through editorials and papers published in our journal, Interciencia. This continuous transfer of new knowledge has been carried out to meet the needs of our fellow-citizens. It has been our belief that science appropriation is one sure way to help reduce poverty and increase well-being. Despite the name of our member associations, it is social progress and not progress of science itself that is our dream.

    Scientists from different countries and many disciplines who attended the recent meeting in Buenos Aires, all agreed on the letter and spirit of the Declaration of Panama. Some insisted on the importance of early science teaching in schools, in order to inculcate the rigor of analyzing and reasoning. All of them shared the view that ignoring the gender gap in scientific professions was blocking women’s ability to participate in the knowledge society, depriving society of a significant portion of its intellectual force, a sure way to weaken the national scientific capacity.

    We hope that the political leaders of our hemisphere will retain the chief message of our scientific communities, that spending in S&T is not a "gift" to the scientist but an investment for social development. The members of Interciencia share the same conviction and conclusions expressed by the ministers and the high authorities of S&T of the hemisphere in the Plan of Action and the Declaration of Lima 2004: Science, Technology and Innovation are essential components of Democracy and in the Report of the OAS Office of Education, Science and Technology.

Michel Bergeron

President, Interciencia Association

DECLARATION OF PANAMA

    In the XXIst century it is unthinkable to create more jobs, to face poverty and to strengthen democratic governance without improving societal appropriation of Science and Technology (S&T) and without mobilizing the scientific and technological community. Extensive use of science, application of the most efficient technology locally, promotion of innovation and interconnecting our societies are also essential, but they imply the mobilization of local infrastructures such as national research councils, universities, private sector and technological institutes.

    The members of the INTERCIENCIA Association, a federation of the 18 Associations for the Advancement of Science in the Americas, share the same conviction and the same conclusions expressed by the ministers and the high authorities of S&T of the Hemisphere in the Plan of Action and the Declaration of Lima 2004: Science, Technology and Innovation are essential components of Democracy and in the Report of the OAS Office of Education, Science and Technology.

    The following actions and recommendations are therefore proposed. The first one and the corner-stone is the access to scientific information. Its recognition, for Interciencia members, must become a new fundamental right emblematic of this millennium:

    I. The INTERCIENCIA Association respectfully submits to the Heads of State and Governments of the Americas, members of the General Assembly of the OAS, that the accessibility to scientific information must be recognized as a Fundamental Right of the Citizen, a corollary of the Charter of the OAS.

    Since accessibility to scientific information is intimately linked with the basic right of education, some may wonder why consider this notion as a specific fundamental right. It should not be questioned, precisely because scientific applications have modified our world and because technical and scientific knowledge is part of the daily living activities of human beings. Moreover, a rigorous scientific input is essential in any decision-making process. In all our institutions involving citizens’ participation, be it our governments or any non-governmental institutions, a S&T input and their socio-economic effects are inseparable from their decisions.

    The fact that the solution of many health problems is well known and is not implemented, constitutes one of the scandals of our advanced and less advanced democracies. Science illiteracy, like the other one, is often associated with poverty and bad hygienic conditions in less privileged societies as well as in slums of large modern cities. For example, the cost and disastrous effects of ignorance are well documented and demonstrated in environment and in public health, namely in nutritional deficiencies.

    It is without saying that the new right of accessibility to scientific information, like any other fundamental right, is not absolute and must be considered in the context of other rights, namely the Intellectual Property and the international Patent laws. In fact, this new right follows the letter and the spirit of the Charter of the OAS, namely the objectives of Chapter IV on Integral Development.

    From this new right of accessibility to scientific information follows the duty of our governments to promote scientific literacy and the humane use of S&T in their social context. Making information available and facilitating the expansion of the electronic highways have been accepted as a mandate at the Quebec Summit and must continue to be implemented by the various updated networks.

    Education at all levels, for women and men, is a responsibility of each nation. Scientific literacy calls upon the necessity, for each state, to train professionals in all scientific disciplines. That is obvious in order to:

    1) Create and maintain a local National Capacity building in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).

    2) Realize science appropriation by our societies through science dissemination and education.

    Capacity building in STI is necessary everywhere. But the need is greatest for the less privileged countries. Without a national capacity for STI the dilemma between underdevelopment with employment or modernization without employment may never be broken. Extensive use of Science and application of the most efficient technology can be achieved preferably, if not only, by local groups of experts. The national experts are the best placed to transfer new knowledge and meet the needs of their fellow-citizens, especially practising professionals. Moreover entrepreneurship will develop at best if there is a National Capacity of enlightened minds ready to transform new ideas into applications which will create employment. There is no other way to reduce poverty and increase well-being.

    The workshop on gender inequality organized by the OAS Office of Education, Science and Technology has shown that all societies of our hemisphere should be concerned about the gender gap in scientific professions. Ignoring this dimension is blocking women’s ability to participate in the Knowledge Society and, strangely, is also accepting to deprive a society of a significant portion of its intellectual force, a sure way to weaken the National Scientific Capacity.

    For those reasons and as a corollary of the new fundamental right of accessibility to scientific information, three other recommendations are made:

    II. The INTERCIENCIA Association supports with enthusiasm the continued implementation of the Agenda for e-Science and Connectivity in the Americas and wishes that this mandate receives adequate and continued financing from the OAS, the development banks, private foundations and governments.

    III. The INTERCIENCIA Association strongly supports the approach to poverty reduction in the hemisphere, which takes advantage of STI and its centrality for the construction and maintenance of a knowledge-based society, inclusive of women and men. INTERCIENCIA also insists on the presence of local scientific expertise to create high quality innovation products and to ensure quality control on both imports and exports. This can be achieved at low cost by improving collaboration among scientists of the Region. For implementation of any mandate financing and evaluation schemes must be in place.

    IV. Considering the low percentage of GNP dedicated to STI, the General Assembly of OAS should urge all member states to increase this percentage to above 1% of GNP. Investment, here, is not expenditure since it is the engine of integral and sustainable development.

Panama City, August 19, 2005