Speech on the Occasion of

World Science Day for Peace and Development, and the Bhutan Year of Science and Technology

Bhutan, 10 November, 2010

Prof. Hubert J. Gijzen, PhD

Director and Representative

UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific

H.E. Dr. Thakur Powdyel, Minister for Education, and Chairman of the Bhutan National Commission for UNESCO,

Am Sangay Zam, Secretary, Ministry of Education, and Secretary general of the Nhutan National Commission for UNESCO,

Chair and members of the organizing committee

Distinguished guests and participants

Ladies and gentlemen, students,

I would like to begin these remarks with warm congratulations to the Ministry of Education and the organizing committee for co-organizing today’s event to celebrate the “Bhutan Year of Science and Technology” and also the “World Science Day for Peace and Development”. I am very excited to be here, as this is my first visit to Bhutan, and I was particularly impressed by the attention given by the country to the role of science and technology. I can clearly see the complementarities between the country’s unique vision on the concept of ‘Gross National Happiness’, and the focus on Science, Technology and Innovation for the betterment of life, for peace and for sustainable development.

However, we must recognize that the advancement of science and technology also raises important ethical, safety and environmental issues, including possible negative applications of science and technology which could threaten mankind’s own future. In that sense, the most pressing challenges we face today include global warming; environmental destruction, including massive water resources pollution; preventing terrorism; controlling infectious diseases; and ethical dimensions of scientific developments, such as in the case of cloning technology. International efforts to address these challenges are needed now more than ever.

Ladies and Gentlemen, what can we learn from the past?

S&T have been the key drivers for economic and human development in recent history. I just need to refer to the Industrial Revolution, which was triggered by the invention of the steam engine in 1681, which lead to further mechanization and mass production. We can hardly imagine how life would be today without this development. I also refer to the Medical revolution, which was triggered by the discovery of microbial life in the second half of the 19th century by Louis Pasteur and further work done by Robert Koch and others. This led later to the discovery of antibiotics by Alexander Fleming in the 30-ties of the previous century. Many of us would actually not be here without this major discovery, which triggered the development of the pharmaceutical industry. And then there was also the Green revolution, which started about 60 years ago and aimed at boosting the world food production capacity via the production and application of chemical fertilser, pesticides and crop improvement techniques. Without this, the world population would be lower by some 2.5 to 3 billion people.We are currently witnessing an ICT revolution, and I predict that soon we will see other revolutions triggered by S&T, including a biotechnology and nanotechnology revolution.

However, all these rapid developments, while generating valuable products and improving human health and well-being, have also caused substantial problems, such as major waste production and contamination of water, air and soil, massive use of non-renewable energy and consequent climate change, eutrophication of water ways due to fertilizer losses, and eco-toxicological problems due to wide spread use of agro-chemicals and pesticides.This actually tells us that we need to mobilize S&T yet again, but now to stage a ‘Sustainable Development Revolution’, in which technologies and scientific insights will provide conditions that improve the health and well-being of both people and the broader living environment.

This is really what the recent Science and Technology for Society Forum in Kyoto, Japan, referred to as the “lights and shadows of science and technology.” Opportunities need to be taken, but the risks must also be controlled. At the same time, the benefits of science and technology are not reaching a major part of the world’s people. This brings me to the important role of S&T in addressing the MDGs and to fight poverty in general. S&T needs to be mobilized to fix the energy question, to solve the issues of pollution, to fight disease, to provide a basis for a fair society, which provides opportunities and services for all, and where poverty has no place.

Now, if we recognize that S&T is of such critical importance for human development and human well being, one wonders, does it really get the attention it deserves? Unfortunately the answer to this question is NO, not yet. The reasons are twofold: where the OECD recommends that any country should invest at least 3% of its GDP in S&T, most countries in Asia and the Pacific only invest a fraction of this. For Indonesia, for example, this is currently about 0.15% (20-fold lower compared to OECD recommendation). Also the development of a strong and qualified work force in S&T is in danger. In the entire region we witness a decline in the intake figures of students taking a Science career a situation that will inevitably lead to a lack of expertise in addressing the major challenges mentioned earlier.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This means there is work to be done. In the context of todays event, I would particularly like to highlight two areas where UNESCO’s contribution could be useful to member states: a) science and technology policy advise, and b) Science education, linked to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

In the year 2005, the General Assembly launched the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which is lead by UNESCO. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a vision of education that seeks to empower people to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable future. I submit that science education in the context of sustainable development is a key element in empowering our young people, who are the future leaders of their countries to contribute to a sustainable future.

There are two ways by which science education can contribute to the overall effort of Education for Sustainable Development. One is through teaching content, and the other is by development of the essential skills that I have just mentioned.

On the content aspect, Science Education has a strong potential in addressing complex issues, related to sustainable development, and related to a local MDG context. By addressing these in a classroom setting one could generate both increased awareness about the problems and possible solutions, and one could find a more interesting entry point for teaching science. An example (from my own experience) is a class room experiment where students rub their finger over a Petri dish with agar to allow growth of microorganisms; they do this before and after thorough hand washing, and the result is evident, hand washing removes most of the microorganisms. The experiment confronts children with the unseen living world (microorganisms), creates awareness on the origin of infectious disease and the importance of hygiene, and provides an excellent entry point to teach about microbiology, water and health. As a result, the teaching of science becomes more alive if placed in the ESD context.

On the skills development side, the teaching of science subjects provide a platform for developing critical and analytical skills, systemic thinking, problem-solving, evidence-based decision-making, as well as a spirit of scientific inquiry, openness and collaboration.

In this respect I welcome the initiative of the Ministry of Education of Bhutan to develop and launch a new science curriculum framework, which was developed with the support of UNESCO. We would further like to stimulate cooperation between countries in the region in SE, ESD, and in science and technology in general.One approach to achieve this is to develop a programme in science education in the context of sustainable development that would work towards re-orientation of current science teaching and learning to make it more ‘hands-on’, more vibrant, interesting and relevant. To this end UNESCO Regional Science Bureau has developed a Regional Flagship Programme on Science Education in the context of sustainable development. The programme is called COMPETENCE (in full: Comprehensive Programme to Enhance Technology, Engineering and Science Education in Asia). I invite you all to join us in this new programme, to both contribute and benefit from it.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

UNESCO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, has defined its mission to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through Education, the Sciences, Culture, Communication and Information. The role of science, technology and innovation is to improve the wellbeing of people, and to attain peace, balance and harmony, not only between people, but also in relation to all natural resources and life on this planet. As such, the adoption of a science and technology approach in Bhutan could contribute significantly to the country’s unique vision on Gross National Happiness, a concept that has the potential to really make sustainable development happen.

I extend my sincere congratulations to the Government of Bhutan for their vision on science and technology expressed via this “Bhutan Year of Science and Technology” with the theme “Exploring and Engaging Science”. The Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific stands ready to work closely with the Government of Bhutan, to ensure that we realise the quality and quantity leap needed to achieve Sustainable Development for the people of Bhutan, the Asia and the Pacific Region, and for the world at large.

Thank you.###

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