AMMAN (Petra) - HRH Princess Sumaya stressed the importance of placing science and technology at the service of all members of society at a forum in Japan earlier this week.
The Princess, who is president of Royal Scientific Society (RSS), made the remarks at the 5th annual meeting of the Science and Technology in Society Forum (STS) in Kyoto.
The event, this year held under the theme "Lights and Shadows of Science and Technology", gathers members of the global scientific community within a productive framework to discuss the ethical application of science and technology for the benefit of mankind.
STS Forum Founder and Chairman Koji Omi referred to the challenges facing the sector.
"Because these problems are increasingly complex in the context of globalisation, they are beyond the control of any single country," he noted, adding that they are also beyond the reach of the scientific community alone, therefore a multinational, multistakeholder approach is indispensable.
The forum featured a closed-door roundtable that brought together the presidents of 20 scientific academies from various countries to explore the potentialities of global collaboration.
As RSS president, Princess Sumaya represented Jordan in the session and suggested formalising the meeting into an ongoing collaboration.
"This would open doors for joint research projects, scientific exchanges and joint educational programmes that are tailored towards solving the most pressing challenges. A natural by-product of this consortium would be the creation of an advisory network that could be shared among participating institutions," the Princess said, as she described the formation of a Global Academy of Science.
In addition, she delivered a talk on human capital titled: "Brain Drain, Brain Gain and Brain Circulation", at a session that also hosted Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, secretary general of the European Research Council, Margret Wintermantel, president of the German Rectors' Conference, and other key figures.
"I came here today with a clear task at hand; as Jordan is transforming itself towards a knowledge-based economy, it is imperative to leverage our talent for the benefit of society, while building on and expanding Jordan's global network in light of the global competition for talent," the Princess said.
"It is my duty as a Jordanian first and as an Arab second, to showcase the progress of our science and technology communities and express our sincere intent to work with and learn from the rest of the world," she added.
During the event, the STS Forum chairman officially invited the Princess to become a permanent STS Council member, making her the first Jordanian to join this prominent community, which has 65 members from 23 countries.
Over 800 participants from more than 90 countries, regions and international organisations took part in the forum, including 35 ministers from around the world who have been involved in policy making, in addition to five Nobel laureates.
© Jordan Times 2008
