Dear distinguished guests and colleagues, It is my honour to welcome you to the Muscat Global Dialogue
First on behalf of the science community let me extend our heartfelt gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said for generously supporting the hosting of the Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue and the General Assembly of the International Science Council.
We also extend our thanks to His Highness Sayyid Asaad bin Tarik Al Said Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs and Special Representative of His Majesty the Sultan for patronizing the opening ceremony.
I particularly want to acknowledge Her Excellency Professor Rahma Bint Ibrahim Al Mahrouqi, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation for her warm words and enthusiastic support of this meeting
Six and a half years ago at the inaugural General Assembly of the ISC, Oman offered to host the next General Assembly scheduled for 2021. Unfortunately, COVID-19 intervened, and the consequent disruption meant delays in when the ISC could convene. Indeed, our constitution required us to have an electronic assembly in October 2021. The Omani Government and its officials remained committed to hosting the General Assembly and hence we are here today. The ISC board and secretariat are particularly grateful for the ongoing commitment of the Sultanate of Oman to demonstrating the importance of science as a global good.
During these delays the work of the ISC progressed and the Board of the ISC identified that the ISC should develop a different kind of dialogue to that which dominated most international and regional science meetings. Namely we should attempt to bridge the gap between science and policy but do so in a way that is regionally relevant – hence the concept of the regional components of the Global Knowledge Dialogue series. We started in Pretoria, Kuala Lumpur then Santiago and now we bring much of that experience together here in the Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue – later in the week we will follow this with our general assembly.
It is worth reflecting for a moment on the ISC, for it is a new organization built on a very old legacy. In 2018 it merged its natural and social science predecessors into a new organization with a new vision, mission and orientation. The ISC is now unequivocally the central organization bringing the global voice for science to the multilateral system and its many components, promoting the use of evidence in policy-making at all levels, taking an important role in science diplomacy, working at a high level on the issues requiring global scientific cooperation and in particular promoting transdisciplinary approaches, continuing as a strong advocate for freedom and responsibility in science, and very much focused on how science and science systems will evolve in a world where AI will change who the actors are and what the modes of the production exist, and reporting of knowledge including the rise of the private sector even in basic science.
There has during this period been a welcome but overdue shift in the centre of gravity of science to a more global and diverse input in geography and gender. But at the same time science as the only universal knowledge system is challenged by rising relativism, disinformation, and geostrategic issues, some of which threaten the progress made in open science. There has been a declining trust in institutions including the institution of science.
The ISC is proud that it is inclusive of countries and disciplines, is strictly non-political in a geostrategic sense, and increasingly in its spread of member organizations. It is increasingly obvious that if science is to play its core role in protecting the global commons and promoting regional and national development, it must speak with a much stronger and much more unified voice.
Later in the week we will be discussing how we achieve this. But today and tomorrow we will focus on this dialogue on some of the more obvious issues at the interface between science and society, science and policy, science and the global good. Where possible we will put it in the context of the critical role of science in social, environmental and economic development in every country including the least developed and emerging economies and indeed in advanced economies as well. Oman is an example of a fast emerging and ambitious country that has recognized how science and education are core to national development, and they are to be applauded for that and their commitment to this forum. They have also been a leader in science diplomacy where I have worked with their team closely.
But let us also remember the history of humankind is about using knowledge and technology both for good and bad. Some of the challenges we face now directly emerge from progress in science and technology in the past. Climate change is in the end a consequence of progress in industrial technology and in public health more than 150 years ago. War has always been and remains based on science and technological advances. We have seen the complex political and social reactions globally to the success of Covid vaccines and now the rush to embrace AI without understanding its implications for humankind and societies.
Such issues mean we must embrace the need for natural and social scientists, policy makers, politicians, diplomats and indeed all citizens to understand that science has a critical role in addressing every challenge faced by governments at all levels, from local to multinational. The ISC has championed transdisciplinary approaches which have become much more important. Science must be at the policy table.
The science community has important responsibilities and opportunities. We have a universal language. Our goal is to better understand the world around and within us. Science is an essential part of the route to environmental wellbeing, social and economic development. As a broad and uniquely representative organization we have a critical role to play, but it will be more effective when the global science community works together.
Let me once more extend our profound appreciation to the Sultanate of Oman, its government, and its people for their warm hospitality.
Thank you.
27 Jan 2024
Muscat, Oman