InterAcademy Panel Confers on the "Unity of Science"
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Alexandria— Amidst a world of growing rifts, scientists have come together from different parts of the globe to combine their knowledge and cross the borders that separate them. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina made this gathering possible through hosting the InterAcademy Panel triennial Conference and General Assembly on 1-5 December 2006. The Conference is devoted to the theme of the" Unity of Science" and includes speeches by distinguished speakers in areas of natural and social sciences, including mathematical, physical and earth sciences. It was inaugurated by the opening speeches of Dr. Hany Helal, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Mr. Gérard de Puymege, UNESCO Representative, who applauded ""the promising development of IAP"" and its attempts at ""mobilizing science for sustainability"". Also, Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina gave a detailed presentation on the facilities of the old library, demonstrating how it perfectly embodied the unity of different sciences.
""Opportunities are unfolding in developing countries", said Professor Mohamed H.A. Hassan, TWAS Executive Director in his opening speech as he referred to the establishment of numerous science academies in Sub-Saharan countries. Professor Hassan emphasized the importance of promoting ""science and technology as tools for economic growth"" and hoped that their role in advancing the millennium goals would ""make poverty history"". Other speakers during the opening session were IAP"s Co-Chairs Chen Zhu and Yves Quéré who said that "there is one science , not several sciences" and that "the more we progress in all parts of knowledge, the more we perceive the links in these parts ".On the other hand, Chen Zhu drove attention to the significance of reaching beyond scientific specializations seeing that "cross-disciplines are a feature of the unity of science". He held the belief that science should overcome the limits of time, geographic distance and cultural differences so as to advance human welfare through the sharing of mutual knowledge.
The Inter Academy Panel on international issues, launched in 1993, is a global network of the world"s science academies. Primarily, the IAP hopes to create effective communication networks in order to help its member academies work together and, also, to assist young and small academies in achieving their goals. IAP is particularly interested in raising public awareness as well as in exerting a constructive influence upon policy makers as regards the critical global issues of the day. This challenging mission remains to haunt the hearts and minds of IAP scientists as they continue to resist the hindering bounds of division.
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