The 2-day conference of Science-20 under G-20 will be held on June 16 and 17 at the Taj Hotel in Bhopal.
The theme of the conference is “Connecting Science to Society and Culture”. The conference will be chaired by Professor Ashutosh Sharma, President of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA).
The conference will be attended by representatives of G-20 countries, invited states and international organisations.
The conference will open at 9 am with remarks by India, Indonesia and Brazil and a opening talk by R Chidambaram on the topic “Connecting to Society and Culture”. On the first day various topics will be discussed in 2 sessions.
The second day June 17 will begin with a nature walk at Van Vihar. The G-20 representatives will visit Tribal Museum Bhopal in the morning and Sanchi in the evening.
In the conference, detailed discussions will be held regarding connecting science with society and culture, which will lead to ease of decision making on scientific literacy, innovation and known information. Embracing the wonders of science and bridging the gap between science and the public and its impact on culture, building a more inclusive and informed society will be discussed. Currently, the relationship between science, society and culture is undergoing a phase of significant changes. The conference will also discuss how the disruptive elements of science, technology and interdisciplinary collaboration present in connecting science to society and culture and vice versa both major opportunities and challenges.
The conference will have two sessions. Thematic presentation will be given by Shri Wickstrom. These will focus on science and technology for education and skills, law and governance, heritage and culture. The discussion will mainly focus on Frontier Technologies, Future Society and Artificial Intelligence for Society and Culture. Subject experts Shri Uday Desai, Shri Alok Srivaswat, Shri Bharat Lal, Shri Sachin Chaturvedi, Sushri Sharda Srinivasan, Sushri Shanti Pappu, Shri Sameer Chouhan will present their views on different topics in these sessions.
Science-20, a science engagement vertical of the G-20, was established in 2017 during the presidency of Germany. It includes the scientific academies of all G-20 countries. The G-20, being organised under the chairmanship of India, has Indonesia and Brazil as Troika members along with India. The main objective of the Science-20 Engagement Group is to provide science-driven recommendations based on consensus to policy makers.
The Science-20 consultation has begun with a preliminary meeting held in Puducherry on 30 and 31 January 2023. This was followed by another conference on ‘Clean Energy for Greener Future’ in Agartala, Tripura on 3-4 April 2023 and another on ‘Universal Holistic Health’ in Lakshadweep on 2 May 2023. These conferences of Science-20 will culminate with a summit meeting in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu).
