 "World Science Day 2020: What you should know about this year's theme, day's history and significance")
Every year on 10 November, people celebrate World Science Day for Peace and Development to highlight the important role of science in society and to engage the public in debates and discussions on emerging scientific issues.
The day also underlines the importance and relevance of science in daily life.
The United Nations commemorated the day with this tweet: “Science is key to understanding our world, from #COVID19 to the causes of the climate emergency.”
According to UNESCO, the day aims to ensure that citizens are kept informed of developments in the world of science and underscores role scientists play in understanding the planet and in ways societies can be made more sustainable.
World Science Day 2020 theme
With the global COVID-19 pandemic highlighting the critical role of science in addressing global challenges, the 2020 theme of World Science Day is Science for and with Society. The UNESCO is organising an online roundtable on the theme of “Science for and with Society in dealing with COVID-19”.
Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Science Day for Peace and Development stated that the current crisis should serve as a wakeup call regarding the urgency of increased financing and support of scientific research and collaboration.
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More Shorts“This concerns not only the natural sciences, but also the social and human and sciences. The virus is an all-encompassing societal issue, irreducible to epidemiological data alone, however fundamental they may be,” she added.
History of World Science Day
The first World Science Day was celebrated on 10 November 2002. It was first proclaimed by UNESCO in 2001 and since then, World Science Day for Peace and Development has offered an opportunity to show the general public the relevance of scientific discourse and discovery.
The day came began being celebrated after the 1999 World Conference on Science in Budapest where it was considered that the day would be an opportunity to reaffirm the commitment to attaining goals proclaimed in the Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge every year.
The Vice-President of India Venkaiah Naidu wrote, “World Science Day for Peace and Development is a day to remind us that the ultimate aim of science is to bring happiness and make people’s lives better. #ScienceDay.”
He went on to add that the ongoing pandemic has highlighted the need for the scientific community of the world to come together and find solutions to the problems being faced by humanity.
“On this day let’s pledge to use #science to further peace & development in the world and make it a better place to live in,” he added.
Naveen Patnaik and Nitin Gadkari too shared similar messages to celebrate the day:
As world fights one of the biggest health challenges in human history, it has brought sharp focus on the role of science in society. On #WorldScienceDay for #Peace and #Development, reaffirm pledge to promote science and technology for the betterment of society.#ScienceDay pic.twitter.com/R1SjrTHnUC
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) November 10, 2020
As we celebrate #WorldScienceDay for Peace and Development, our goal should be to introduce science to everyone by emphasizing the importance of science in our daily lives. pic.twitter.com/IMXne1MDHk
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) November 10, 2020
The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology shared that World Science Day aims to sensitise the public about the significance of science and its development in the sustainability of life while highlighting the role of scientists.
The Nobel Prize Twitter account too celebrated the day with a short video clip remembering Linus Pauling, “a Chemistry Laureate whose campaign against nuclear weapons also led to him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.”
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