On Security, Climate, and Economic Development, Conference Sees Need for Science Diplomacy

London—With relations frayed between much of the West and the Middle East, policy leaders worldwide are considering an increasingly urgent question: Do scientists and science-based government policy have a role to play in building better international relations through collaboration on research and science education?

It was a central question when high-level scientists and science policy leaders convened for two days of discussions hosted by the Royal Society and co-sponsored by AAAS. The talks ranged widely—from policy on security and economic development to resources and environment of the Arctic—but all focused on promise and potential pitfalls of science diplomacy and international science collaboration.

Razley bin Mohd Nordin, director general for Science and Technology at the Organization of the Islamic Conference, called it "one of the most important issues of present days—diplomacy as the way for confidence-building and peace-keeping and the role of science in diplomacy in bridging the civilizations, cultures, and religions through centuries."

Even during the Napoleonic Wars of the 19th century, French and British scientists maintained working contacts, said Lorna Casselton, foreign secretary of the Royal Society. Today, she said, science remains a means of "rising above political and diplomatic affairs."

To learn more about the Royal Society/AAAS conference, "New Frontiers in Science Diplomacy," read the full story.