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07 / 06 / 2004
Jose Mariano Gago: “Science shouldn't be an economic instrument”
The former Portuguese Minister for Science and Technology urged science to be in step with the needs of all humanity, independent of geographical location
Pulitzer Prize winner, John Noble Wilford, spoke about the great science news of the 21st century
José Mariano Gago, former Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology, criticized the current tendency of science to work towards future developments in terms of economic interests rather than in the search for answers to the problems of humanity. In his closing remarks for the Dialogue “Scientific Knowledge and Cultural Diversity” he urged science information to be delivered in more general terms to all regions of the world.
The conference which finished today at the Forum recommended that all people have access to science information as a means to facilitate debate and to urge the scientific community to come up with solutions to the problems of the people.
For his part John Noble Wilford, of the science supplement of The New York Times and twice Pulitzer Prize winner, urged the media “to be more critical and to write editorial articles about science because there are not enough in the news”. He pointed out that “the documents could be put on the internet, because there is large amount of science information but no comment on it.”
In this sense he drew attention to the danger of the internet since “it is an advantage that everyone can put their opinions on the net, however in the case of science there is no way of guaranteeing scientific accuracy and that is very dangerous”. He went on to say that it is precisely at that point that the responsibility of journalists to check the accuracy of the news arises.
He continued by saying that the great news of the 21st century will be medical and biological research into matters relating to the brain, and genetic engineering. Also in the news will be scientific research into other planets.
Lisbet Fog, vice-president of the World Federation of Science Journalists, said that “science should be included in all sections of the newspapers and not only in the science pages”, since in this way people will understand it as a normal part of their lives.
In the closing session, Seoul was confirmed as the host for the 9th International Conference on Public Communication in Science and Technology, and Los Angeles was confirmed as the host for the 10th conference in 2008.
More information about Scientific knowledge and cultural diversity
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