Between the 29th and 31st of August FAPESP will host the first of seven preparatory meetings for the World Science Forum 2013 ( Fórum Mundial de Ciência 2013 ). The forum takes place in Rio de Janeiro in November next year. The theme of the meeting is “Science for Global Development: from Education to Innovation: Building the Bases for Citizenship and Sustainable Development.”

The programme opens on 29th August at 17.30 with a seminar on the “The Role of the Science Academies Network” with Michael Clegg, of the Inter-American Network of Science Academies and the University of California in the USA. Simultaneous translation is available.

Between the 30th and 31st of August, researchers, promoters of science and innovation, representatives of Brazilian universities, the Brazilian Academy of Science, the Royal Society (UK), UNESCO and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will take part in four sessions: “The Different Aspects of Science”; “The Governance of Science and Innovation”; “Education for Science – the Bases for Innovation and Sustainable Development” and “The Challenges for Science in the 21st Century”.

The other preparatory meetings will take place in six other Brazilian capitals: Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Recife, Manaus, Porto Alegre and Brasília. In each of these, different aspects of the main challenges for science in this century will be debated. Four themes will be common to each of the meetings: “Education in Science”; “Social Access to Scientific Knowledge”; “Ethics in Science”; and “Science for Sustainable and Inclusive Development”.

In the end of these meetings, the organisers intend to produce a report outlining the main conclusions of the debate which will be published ahead of the Forum next year in Rio de Janeiro.

The preparation of this meeting is the responsibility of an Executive National Commission, made up of members of 13 institutions of the National System of Science, Technology and Innovation (CT&I). There are representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCTI), ABC, the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC); the Ministry of Foreign Relations (MRE); the Ministry of Education (MEC); the Capes (an executive training and education body); the National Council for Science and Technology; FINEP (which finances scientific studies and projects); the Commission for Management and Strategic Study (CGEE); the National Association of the heads of Federal Further Education Institutions (Andifes); the National Council of the State Secretaries for CT&I (Consecti); the National Council of State Foundations for Research (Confap) and the Office of UNESCO in Brazil.

World Meeting

The World Science Forum in 2013 will be coordinated by the Hungarian Academy of Science in partnership with UNESCO; the International Council for Science (ICSU); the Academy of Science for the Developing World (TWAS); the European Academies Science Advisory Council Executive (EASAC); the AAAS and the ABC. The objective of the forum is to promote debate among the scientific community and in society generally. Since its first meeting in 2003, the forum has taken place every two years in Budapest, Hungary. The designation of Rio de Janeiro as the host city for the 2013 forum is a result of the Brazilian government’s interest in promoting science in Brazil and the broader Latin American region. These discussions in turn are part of an effort which began in 2009 to develop a regional strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation.

The main result of this series of meetings was the Regional Declaration presented at the tenth anniversary meeting of the Forum. The document proposes solutions for the problems faced by countries in this area and introduces the theme of social inclusion into policy discussions.