Programme / Thematic session IV/f Science Diplomacy for Social Justice

Science for Social Justice – the theme for the World Science Forum (WSF) 2022 – is a call to action. A call for collaboration towards creating a more equal, fair, and just world.

The call embraces Science Diplomacy with special attention on the African agenda for science, technology and innovation, and the promotion of and commitment to greater participation in global science.

Building Science Diplomacy bridges on the continent of Africa and beyond through collaboration underpins the Science Diplomacy Capital for Africa (SDCfA) initiative – a strategic enabler for ‘The Africa we want’.

In a collaborative partnership, the SDCfA, the Barcelona SciTech DiploHub, and the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator, are honoured to host this thematic session at the WSF under the theme Science Diplomacy for Social Justice. Other participants are the Academy of Science of South Africa, the African Academy of Sciences, and the European Union.

COVID-19 provided a blueprint for how ‘we are stronger together’. Resources were pooled, shared, and aligned to optimise synergies. Although there were challenges experienced like vaccine nationalism, the successes achieved need to be reinforced through global collaborative solidarity and leadership. Collaboration like that of the AAS with the European Union and the African Union in June
2022 – the ARISE Fellowships were awarded to 44 rising researchers in 38 African countries for a period of five years.

Anticipating the future includes ensuring that the cross-cutting emerging cohort is equipped to tackle the Societal Grand Challenges and Sustainable Development Goals. Doing so requires fostering Science for Diplomacy for Collaboration (S4D4C).

Sustainable collaboration for the successful evolution of Science Diplomacy cuts across all stakeholder landscapes – diplomatic missions, all tiers of governments, science and education bodies, regional and global agencies, the private sector, and civil society. All play a crucial role in responding to the WSF 2022 call to action.