“BASIC SCIENCES: THE SCIENCE LEVER FOR DEVELOPMENT”

John H. Marburger III, Chair of session 1 of the Ministerial Round Table
Dr. Marburger is President Bush' Science Advisor.

Read the Report of the High Level Roundtable on Basic Sciences held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in October 2005.

The participants in this high level advisory meeting called "upon UNESCO to consider the following:

(a) to place greater emphasis on promoting the basic sciences and science education with a view to the attainment of a science culture as a precursor of a knowledge-based society worldwide, through various means available at UNESCO, and in particular the recently launched flagship International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP).

(b) to develop and promote a clear programme of action for youth and for gender parity.

(c) to emphasize science education as an integral part of capacity building by developing model curricula in science for secondary and undergraduate teaching suited to the emerging knowledge economy.

(d) to strengthen existing UNESCO Chairs and centres of excellence in the basic sciences in both developed and developing countries, to foster networking between them for the benefi t of developing countries, and to promote in this context cooperation with regional structures such as NEPAD in Africa.

(e) to assist the upgrading of higher education in developing countries through feasibility studies to transform academic institutions/universities into academic/research institutes, and vice versa.

(f) to seek stronger synergies between the basic sciences and higher education through intersectoral programmes.

(g) to assist in the formulation, implementation and mainstreaming of foresight, prioritization and science and technology policies in developing countries, and the establishment of innovation systems, bearing in mind the importance of S&T policies to facilitate national economic growth and development.