Consulate General of the United States - U.S. Congressmen meet with the Arab Science and Technology Foundation

Consulate General of the United States - U.S. Congressmen meet with the Arab Science and Technology Foundation: "During the meeting, participants discussed ways for U.S. businesses and organizations to partner with ASTF. Congressman Baird spoke of the importance of science diplomacy, which cuts against politics and borders, and praised the ASTF's important advocacy role in the Middle East."

U.S. Group Plans a Digital Library to Aid North African Research

U.S. Group Plans a Digital Library to Aid North African Research: "'The U.S. government has a renewed interest in science cooperation generally in order to solve a number of problems: environmental, economic, security,' says Eric Novotny, the foundation's senior vice president. 'And there's a push toward engaging the Muslim world.'

In a speech last year at Cairo University, President Obama said science and technology partnerships were one of the ways the United States could strengthen ties with Islamic nations."

Science diplomacy must be more ambitious - SciDev.Net

Science diplomacy must be more ambitious - SciDev.Net: "Science diplomacy must be more ambitious

Naiyyum Choudhury

23 June 2010 | EN | 中文
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Poor countries merit equal support whatever their religion, culture and natural resources

Flickr/ Michael Foley Photography

Science diplomacy must aim to help all developing countries and not just promote narrow political interests, says Naiyyum Choudhury.

The idea of 'science diplomacy' is fast gaining ground as an effective tool for building ties between developed and developing countries and forging closer working relationships."

When Geneva Meets Genetics

When Geneva Meets Genetics: "This concept, labelled ‘science diplomacy’, is defined by Nina Fedoroff, the Science and Technology Adviser to the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as “the use of scientific collaborations among nations to address the common problems facing 21st century humanity and to build constructive international partnerships”. Although ‘science’ is difficult to define exactly, scientific interactions can refer to those between individual practising scientists, officials in science-focused policy bodies and non-government organisations, or institutions such as universities, research laboratories and national, scientific academies. In these circles, science diplomacy is the subject of increasing enthusiasm. The United Kingdom appointed its first Chief Scientific Adviser to the Foreign Office last year; Fedoroff was recently elected president of the prominent American Association for the Advancement of Science; and countries from Europe to Asia are beginning to invest in similar programs. This is because politicians, diplomats and scientists all see potential benefits in the many different forms that science diplomacy can assume."

Remarks at USAID Conference on Transforming Development through Science, Technology and Innovation

Remarks at USAID Conference on Transforming Development through Science, Technology and Innovation: "I always find it very difficult, Madam Secretary, to introduce you, -- (laughter) -- because of course, you need no introduction. But in addition to just being a source of inspiration and being a leader that we all admire and follow and the person who pushed us to think this way about rethinking development as fundamentally a problem of innovation and thinking and acting differently, I will just share that probably when I started with the Gates Foundation and was out in Senegal sometime in the early 2000, 2001, or 2002, I walked into a little hut that was the office of a small microfinance program run by an NGO called Tostan and by a woman named Molly Melching. And I went in and saw on the wall a photograph of Secretary Clinton, who had visited the program and supported Tostan."

Science, communication, aid and diplomacy - SciDev.Net

Science, communication, aid and diplomacy - SciDev.Net: "Science, communication, aid and diplomacy

David Dickson

16 July 2010 | EN | ES | 中文
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Negotiations must be informed, not driven, by science

Flickr/UN Climate Talks

Helping developing countries communicate and use science is essential to international aid and diplomacy.

The biggest single factor limiting developing countries' potential for achieving sustainable economic growth — or even attaining the Millennium Development Goals — is their ability to access and apply the fruits of modern science and technology.

This statement is more complex than it sounds. There are, for example, many political and economic obstacles to accessing science and technology. And even if access is granted, using science and technology effectively and adapting knowledge to local conditions remains challenging."

Diplomacy - Themes - The Royal Society

Diplomacy - Themes - The Royal Society: "Scientists and diplomats don’t make for obvious bedfellows. While science is in the business of uncovering truth, Sir Henry Wootton, the 17th century diplomat, famously defined the ambassador as 'an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country'. But many aspects of foreign policy have scientific components. Science can act as a source of 'soft power' by improving a country’s influence on the international stage. And the networks of cooperation that underpin science are ideally placed to broker solutions to global problems."