2017 World Science Forum to be held in Jordan

AMMAN — Jordan will host the world’s biggest science event later this year, which will bring together 3,000 scientists from over 100 countries, organisers announced on Wednesday.

The 2017 World Science Forum (WSF) will open at the shores of the Dead Sea on November 7 under the theme “Science for Peace”, the organisers said.

The event is organised by the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) and will be held under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah, Hungarian President János Áder and UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova.

Over the course of the four-day event, scientists will focus on the development of science for achieving positive change and solutions to the world’s challenges in the fields of water, food, energy, climate change and urbanisation, HRH Princess Sumaya, president of WSF 2017 and RSS President, said.

“Water, food, energy and climate change are challenges that necessitate creative solutions and international cooperation to save humanity from a future of conflicts...,” Princess Sumaya said during a press conference announcing Jordan’s hosting of the WSF 2017.

Princess Sumaya highlighted that Jordan has beaten fierce competition from countries across the region and the world before being chosen as the WSF 2017’s host.

She indicated that the Kingdom was selected by WSF founding partners, including UNESCO and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, as a location where peaceful dialogue and innovative thinking are nurtured and celebrated.

The forum will give Jordan a chance to showcase to the world what a small, open and innovative nation can offer to the region and beyond, Princess Sumaya said.

“We want the world to know that we are connected to scientific research and thought processes around the globe, through our triumphant diaspora scientists and through our networked young researchers and engineers here at home,” said the princess, who is also the president of the board of trustees of the Princess Sumaya University for Technology .

The event, supported by UN Secretary General António Guterres, will be attended by several Nobel laureates and senior government representatives from around the world, according to organisers.

Khaled Toukan, chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission and a member of the forum’s national task force, said that the region cannot address its challenges on water, food and energy by merely relying on aid or oil.

Toukan underscored that creativity is the way to find new sources for water, food and energy, noting that the Arab world had “abandoned” science.

It is vital to reconnect the Arab world’s present to its past, Toukan said, referring to the renowned scientists throughout Arab and Islamic history.

Held every two years, the WSF aims to provide a unique global platform for fruitful dialogue on new emerging issues affecting science, policy and society. It brings together scientists, policymakers, industry, representatives of civil society and the media to set out the common tasks ahead in tackling these issues, according to the UNESCO website, which described the WSF as one of the leading contemporary events of global science policy.