This piece was first published in the BOKU Department of Nanobiotechnology (DNBT) website.
Also on this event find more information on InsSciDE website
Science is all around us. Its marvelous products have changed forever our lives in ways that were unimaginable only a few decades ago. We turn to science to make our lives more comfortable, to travel, to eat and warm up our houses, but we also look at science to tackle big societal challenges that afflict our planet such as climate change, poverty and – as we are learning the hard way at the moment- pandemics!
Indeed, science has become a powerful cultural authority in our society. However, far from being a pure intellectual exercise taking place in a vacuum the scientific process is deeply intertwined with the human factor and its development strongly depends on geopolitics and economics.
In this context, Science Diplomacy has become an area of growing interest in both the scientific and the diplomatic communities. This is understood as “a series of practices at the intersection of science, technology and foreign policy. […] where a greater scientific voice could add value to bi- and multilateral discussions and decisions about our shared global concerns.”1
I have always been very passionate about that interplay between science, society and common good, and my decision to become a scientist was driven equally by my fascination for nature as well as by my desire to use science to make a difference in the lives of others.
More recently, through my involvement in the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) I have become increasingly aware of the powerful role of scientific knowledge for the benefit of society.
This vision inspired me to receive more training at the intersection of science and policy. Last summer I had the honor and the pleasure to attend the Warsaw Science Diplomacy School , an innovative training program for the present and future science diplomats of Europe. The school was organized by InsSciDE (Inventing a shared Science Diplomacy for Europe, a Horizon 2020 project) and hosted by the European Academy of Diplomacy. The school gave me a unique insight into science diplomacy and provided me with a platform to network with practitioners in the area throughout the world.
This led to my involvement on the 23rd of November 2020 in a panel on science diplomacy at the online NanoSafe 2020 conference. The week-long event was intended to enable participants to share the latest R&D results on environmental, health and safety issues related to nanomaterials and beyond. The conference included a training day on nanosafety looking at tools, models and stakeholder engagement with a particular focus on science diplomacy. In the context of a webinar session on cultural crossings I was asked to share my personal experience as a scientist who has sought international experience in four different countries.
The panel, gracefully chaired and organized by social phycologist Claire Mays (InsSciDE), included other nanoscience practitioners such as Guillermo Ort-Gils (Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Spian), Adriënne Sips (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Netherlands) as well as science diplomat Lorenzo Melchor (Fundación Española para la Ciencia y Tecnología, Spain) and political science professor Rasmus Bertelsen (The Arctic University of Norway).
What emerged from the very stimulating conversation was the sense that in tackling major societal challenges scientists are called to re-imagine ways to think about their role in a community of research. That vision reinforced my belief that we need to urgently train a new generation of scientists who are able to speak different languages, that is, to “speak” the language of science as well as that of policy so as to build trusting relationships across cultures and fully deploy the power of science and technology to our society.
1 https://www.s4d4c.eu/s4d4c-1st-global-meeting/the-madrid-declaration-on-science-diplomacy/
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