2020 World Conference on Science Literacy

Improve Public Science Literacy, Promote Global Anti-pandemic Effort

The global COVID-19 pandemic has once again proved that human beings are a community with a shared vision and we should bring into full play the leading role of science and technology innovation in overcoming the crisis and achieving sustainable development, as well as maximizing the role science literacy can play in supporting development.

Looking into that, the World Conference on Science Literacy 2020 was successfully held on 8 December 2020 in Beijing, with the theme “Improve Public Science Literacy, Promote Global Anti-pandemic Effort”. The conference is organized by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and supported by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Science Council (ISC), and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

Representatives from international and regional science & technology organizations and experts (including Nobel Prize winners and academicians in related fields from all around the world) joined the conference to talk about how to enhance public science literacy and science in the fight against COVID-19. The objectives of the conference was to share wisdom, experience and results in combating COVID-19, as well as to discuss countermeasures and plans for public health crisis response. The conference also served as a medium to advance the construction of the international cooperation mechanism for promoting public science literacy, as well as to improve the capacity of the global science and technology communities in coping with crises and challenges including major pandemics.

On the plenary session, several panelists from different countries have been invited to deliver keynote speeches on science literacy and science in the fight against the pandemic: Zhang Boli, (academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering), Michael Levitt (Nobel Laureate in Chemistry), Hazami Habib (CEO of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia), Ehud Menipas (Chairman of Association of Engineers, Architects and Graduates in Technological Sciences in Israel) and Huai Jinpeng (Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Secretary of CAST, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)). Madam Hazami Habib shared key experience and measures taken by Malaysia to combat COVID-19 and emphasized the importance of scientific research and outreach during this trying time.

It was proposed that the international science and technology community should adhere to multilateral exchanges, open cooperation, shared development, and join hands to promote science literacy around the globe. The scientific community should also continuously combat the COVID-19 pandemic and facilitate economic recovery, as well as contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind, achieving UN SDGs to make the world a better place.