UN International year of basic sciences for sustainable development, EGO in the steering committee

The UN General Assembly proclaimed the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, following a resolution adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 2019.

The International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development 2022 will explore the role of Basic Sciences in implementing the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, the program that the Member States of the United Nations have agreed on to ensure a balanced, sustainable and inclusive development of the planet. 

EGO is proud to be part of the steering committee for this ambitious project, along with CERN, IUPAP, INFN and many other research institutions all over the world.

With this resolution, the United Nations General Assembly ‘invites all [its] Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other global, regional and subregional organizations, as well as other relevant stakeholders, including academia, civil society, inter alia, international and national non-governmental organizations, individuals and the private sector, to observe and raise awareness of the importance of basic sciences for sustainable development, in accordance with national priorities’.

The United Nations General Assembly motivated its decision with ‘the high value for humankind of basic sciences’, and with the fact that ‘enhanced global awareness of, and increased education in, the basic sciences is vital to attain sustainable development and to improve the quality of life for people all over the world’. It also stressed that ‘basic sciences and emerging technologies respond to the needs of humankind by providing access to information and increasing the health and well-being of individuals, communities, and societies’. The successes and difficulties of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic have been for two years a stark reminder of this importance of basic sciences, such as (but not limited to) biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and anthropology. 

“In order to study the cosmos, astroparticle observatories require the study and knowledge of the environment in which they are immersed – said Stavros Katsanevas, EGO director – This also makes them extraordinary antennas listening to the earth, the atmosphere, the sea able to contribute in a natural way to the great global challenges related to sustainability and climate change”

 For more information on the project and EGO’s role: https://www.iybssd2022.org/en/home/