World Science Forum 2024 kicks off

Global leaders in science policy gather for the 11th time in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss challenges of the science-policy interface at a time of global transformations (press release).

The 11th World Science Forum was officially opened in Budapest, Hungary today. Titled “The Science and Policy Interface at the Time of Global Transformations”, WSF2024 attracts more than 1,100 participants from 122 countries who gather to discuss global trends shaping the future of science and the interaction of science, society and policymaking in a series of lectures and roundtable discussions over four days on 20-23 November.

The global event – originally initiated and now hosted again by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences – was opened in a ceremony attended by the President of Hungary, Tamás Sulyok, and Tamás Freund, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Chair of the WSF2024 Organising Committee.

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Watch the opening ceremony below:

“Our goal for the next three days is not simply to discuss and address the barriers that prevent the science-policy interface from working at its maximum efficiency, but also to strengthen trust in science,” said Hungarian Academy of Sciences President Tamás Freund in his opening speech. “We need to identify best practices, demonstrate the importance of different perspectives and come up with actionable recommendations.”

H.E. Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary and patron of the event emphasized in his opening remarks that one of the key areas of interaction between science and policymaking is scientific advice, which is the main topic of the 11th World Science Forum.

“The quality of this relationship plays a decisive role in determining how successfully policymakers and scientists can cooperate with each other. The two sides may approach certain issues differently for different reasons,” Mr Sulyok added. “Scientists and policymakers take different perspectives on these issues; they also envisage a different time horizon and set different priorities. But in spite of the differences, they have shared responsibilities. We are all responsible for the future of human civilisation. We are responsible for our environment. We are responsible for our children and grandchildren. And last but not least, we are responsible for the decisions we make.”

Photo galleries of Forum events including the opening ceremony here.

The keynote speeches were followed by opening addresses by Xing Qu, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, Sir Peter Gluckman, President of the International Science Council (ISC) and Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

WSF 2024 aims to address the major challenges that prevent the global science-policy-society interface from working at its maximum efficiency. The forum’s main topic will be explored through four major themes: trust in science, risk assessment in the context of science and policy-making, the major tasks identified in September by the UN Summit of the Future, and cooperation and coordination and governance in science, including the freedom and safety of scientists. These issues are key to substantially improving international collaboration and advancing science on a global scale.

At WSF 2024, more than 1,100 delegates from 122 countries will join sessions and roundtable discussions with as many as 100 lectures in 19 plenary and thematic sessions over four days with the aim of overcoming the present limits of the wide-scale implementation of science-based policy measures on a global level.

“The informal setting of the World Science Forum is well suited to present various perspectives and to get our participants and audience engaged and committed towards our common goal: to make sure science is requested, interpreted and used wisely when it comes to elaborating policies on a global or national level. I hope that the declaration that emerges from our discussions will not only be a short summary of the most important thoughts communicated here at the Forum, but may also serve as a point of reference for scientists and policy-makers,” Tamás Freund concluded in his opening speech.

About the World Science Forum

The World Science Forum series was inspired by the success of the "World Conference on Science for the Twenty-First Century: A New Commitment", held in Budapest, Hungary, from 26 June to 1 July 1999, and convened by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council for Science (ICS), in cooperation with other partners.

Driven by the need for a forum for discussion between the scientific community and society, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in partnership with UNESCO, ICS and AAAS established a series of follow-up events called the World Science Forum, taking place biennially in Budapest.

Today, the World Science Forum is a joint effort of UNESCO, ISC, AAAS, the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), the Global Young Academy (GYA) and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) as the host of the 2024 event.

The success of the World Science Forum proves that the original idea and intention behind this initiative is becoming a reality. Scientists, politicians, decision-makers and representatives of civil society have conducted fruitful dialogue on burning issues affecting the scientific world and society together, and summed up the common tasks ahead of us. The growing international interest in the World Science Forum shows that there is a growing consensus: the World Science Forum has become the leading event in global science policy today.