Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of G8-UNESCO World Forum on Education, Research and Innovation: New Partnership for Sustainable Development Trieste, Italy, 10 May 2007 Mr Prime Minister, Distinguished Guests, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you to this G8-UNESCO World Forum on Education, Research and Innovation: New Partnership for Sustainable Development. Let me begin by congratulating Prime Minister Romano Prodi for the initiative that he and his government have taken in holding this event. The idea for this Forum was born during last year s G8 Summit in St Petersburg. Recognizing the decisive role of knowledge in today s societies, G8 leaders underlined the need for increased efforts to develop and integrate the three elements of the knowledge triangle education, research and innovation. In this context, Prime Minister Prodi offered to host a World Forum to explore how knowledge can best be used in support of sustainable development. As a knowledge-based agency, UNESCO appeared the natural partner in such an endeavour, and when Mr Prodi and I met in St Petersburg we agreed to join forces to organize the event. Now, ten months on, we have come together in this magnificent city of Trieste to address the way forward. DG/2007/062 Original: English
I wish to extend my thanks and a very warm welcome to all our distinguished participants, who have come from near and far to be with us here today. Among the many innovative features of this Forum is its multi-stakeholder character. We have among us senior representatives from many multilateral organizations, including the ITU, UNCTAD, UNIDO and other UN sister agencies. Taking part in our discussions are members of academic and research communities, as well as government, civil society, industry and the private sector. I am particularly pleased to see so many members of the UNESCO Forum for Higher Education, Research and Knowledge with us here in Trieste. I believe that around 600 people in total are participating, from over 60 countries. It is such broad-based engagement that brings tangible meaning to the word partnership, which is the underlying theme of the Forum. Finally, I wish to thank all those who helped to make this event possible. Let me express my particular thanks to the educational, research and governmental institutions in Trieste and the region of Fruili-Venezia-Giulia. We are especially grateful to the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics for hosting the meeting. Mr Prime Minister, Distinguished Guests, The purpose of this Forum is to examine ways of better mobilizing knowledge for sustainable development, especially in developing countries. The aim is to promote innovation societies, where all people have access to the education, information and scientific research they need to find solutions to fundamental global challenges. Achieving this goal will require reforms at several levels of society. DG/2007/062 - Page 2
First, there is the need to provide good quality learning opportunities for all people at all stages of life. This is especially important for the world s poorest and most vulnerable populations, where education can be the pathway to freedom, democracy and development. Progress towards Education for All demands strong country leadership, in the form of sustained investment and sound national education sector plans. It also requires coherent and long-term support from the international community. In this regard, UNESCO has developed a Global Action Plan to help coordinate multilateral assistance to country-led strategies. Both the G8 and the EFA High-Level Group have welcomed the plan, which we shall have an opportunity to discuss in greater detail this afternoon. It is only on the basis of quality education that we can build and sustain human and institutional capacity for science, technology and innovation the second area for action. Here again, our focus must lie in empowering developing countries to build the capacity they need to address national development challenges. Science and technology will only be able to fulfil their potential for social good when they are accessible to all, and when they are used to meet the basic needs of the world s most marginalized citizens. At present, however, there are deep inequalities. The UNESCO World Science Report shows profound disparities in terms of R&D investment and production. It points in particular to problems facing science in Africa, which in 2002 accounted for just 0.6% of the world s gross expenditure on R&D, and around 0.9% of world trade in high-tech products. African countries have embarked on a major effort to reverse this situation. The decision to choose science and technology as the special theme of this year s African Union Summit, and to proclaim 2007 Year of Science in Africa, demonstrate the commitment that exists at the highest political level to build capacity on the continent. DG/2007/062 - Page 3
Both Prime Minister Prodi and myself attended the Summit, when African leaders called for the international community to support the implementation of an ambitious five-year Plan of Action for strengthening science and technology in Africa. On Saturday this Forum will devote a special session to examining the ways in which the international community can answer this call. This leads on to the third challenge, which is the need to nurture human and institutional networks where information and research are freely exchanged. International cooperation is critical for advancing science and innovation. Of particular importance is South-South cooperation; this can be a powerful mechanism for building scientific capacity in developing countries and targeting research towards local needs. It is also important for stemming the brain drain, one of the major factors undermining scientific development in the South. The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), located here in Trieste, already serves as a key Forum for promoting scientific dialogue. Over the coming days, we must look at ways to expand such networks and to reach out to those usually excluded in particular women and youth. The fourth challenge for this Forum is embracing knowledge as a public asset and making it accessible to all. Knowledge is a major lever in the fight against poverty, misunderstanding and suspicion. Any barriers that stand in the way of sharing knowledge stand in the way of progress. New information and communication technologies (ICTs) have great potential to expand access to knowledge. However, yet again, their benefits are distributed unequally. According to the 2005 UNESCO World Report, Towards Knowledge Societies, only 11% of the world s population has access to the Internet. To overcome this digital divide a multifaceted approach is needed, which addresses not only questions of infrastructure and connectivity, but also education, culture and language. This leads me to my fifth point, which is the need to protect and promote indigenous knowledge and linguistic diversity. This is essential to creating inclusive knowledge societies, were everyone can participate according to his or her DG/2007/062 - Page 4
language, culture or belief. Local and indigenous knowledge also constitute sources of innovation, and can make an invaluable contribution to global efforts to achieve sustainable development, especially in such areas as public health and biodiversity preservation. The need for openness and inclusiveness brings me to the sixth and final point. The subtitle of this Forum calls for a New Partnership for Sustainable Development. The most critical word is Partnership. Partnership means forging closer relationships between knowledge institutions, government and the private sector. This is why the multi-stakeholder nature of this Forum is so important. Partnership also implies making sure that no-one is left behind. Inequalities in wealth, in scientific capacity, in access to education and knowledge: these inequalities are overlapping and need to be tackled together. In working to expand the horizons of discovery, we must never lose sight of the needs of our most marginalized citizens. Nor can we ignore the impact that the scientific and technological advances we make now will have on the long-term sustainability of our planet. For partnership also means, finally, recognizing the interdependence between the present and the future. Knowledge, in all its forms, may be the foundation of development. However, the applications of knowledge through industrial and technological processes have had an ambivalent impact on our world. It is our responsibility to ensure that the drive for innovation is not made at the expense of the well-being of future generations. This extends beyond concern for environmental sustainability, to the social and moral values by which we live our lives. Biotechnology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering: the critical research areas that you will be exploring over the coming days raise fundamental ethical questions that cannot be ignored. DG/2007/062 - Page 5
Mr Prime Minister, Distinguished Guests, These are some of the key challenges that must be addressed if we are to harness the potential of knowledge for sustainable development. They are all interlinked and need to be tackled together. It remains for me to wish our distinguished guests a very successful meeting. I look forward very much to learning of its outcomes. These will not only feed into the preparations of the forthcoming G8 Summit in Germany, but also into UNESCO s longstanding efforts to foster inclusive knowledge societies where education, research and innovation come together for the benefit of all. Thank you. DG/2007/062 - Page 6