BUDAPEST, Hungary, November 9 /PRNewswire/ --
- Wiesel, Freeman and Potocnik are Among the Speakers
Inspired by the success of the first World Science Forum in 2003, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences - in partnership with UNESCO and ICSU - organizes the second World Science Forum on November 10-12, 2005. North and south, east and west, business and academia, politics and science, public media and people behind closed lab doors have the chance to share ideas, and act together for a better embedding of science in society and, consequently, for a better world.
The Forum tackles the ethical aspects of knowledge and the responsibility of scientists and decision makers in the global society. The experiences of the 20th century have brought about new roles for science. It is not enough anymore to invent new methods; researchers have to take into consideration the social context of the application as well. In addition to responding to the challenges of the academic activity, the responses of science also have to be responsible and ethically conscious. Scientists therefore decided to discuss questions of ethics and responsibility with fellow-scientists as well as leaders of politics and business.
Many prominent academics, politicians and members of the international scientific community will present at the Forum, including Torsten Wiesel, Nobel Laureate, Former President of the Rockefeller University, Peter A. Freeman, Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation of the USA, and Janez Potocnik, Commissioner for Science of the European Commission. The full list of the speakers is available at the Forum's website (www.sciforum.hu).
In the framework of a Special Session Science for Peace, the Israeli-Palestine Science Organisation (IPSO) holds a meeting. This meeting of special foreign political significance is to prove that science, given its universal character, can be instrumental in stimulating dialogue, openness, and mutual respect, and thus in serving the cause of peace. IPSO's mission is to foster and sustain cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians and to promote dialogue and interaction among scholars and scientists in the two communities.
The organisers aim at turning the Forum's website into a basic reference tool of exchanging opinion. Therefore a public e-Forum is made available for everybody interested in discussing, expressing views on the topics of the second World Science Forum. The plenary and the parallel sessions of the event will also be broadcasted live on the website.
World Science ForumCONTACT: Katalin Kovacs, Tel: +36-1-354-2446, E-mail:katalin.kovacs@webershandwick.hu
