Picture: Group discussion in Bangalore, by Elisa Arond

We will also post video from the roundtables in due course.

More information: India roundtables

Caracas, Venezuela, 5th March
Event Title: “Innovacion, Sostenibilidad y Desarrollo para el siglo XXI: una visión desde Venezuela” (Innovation, Sustainability and Development for the 21st Century: a Vision from Venezuela)
Host: Centro de Estudio de la Ciencia del Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas (IVIC)

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10th March
Event Title: “Hacia un Nuevo Manifiesto: Innovación, sustentabilidad y desarrollo en Argentina” (Towards a New Manifesto: Innovation, Sustainability and Development in Argentina)
Hosts:
* Área de Estudios Sociales de la Tecnología y la Innovación, Instituto de Estudios sobre la Ciencia y la Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes
* Centro de Investigaciones para la Transformación (CENIT)
* Centro de Estudios de Historia de la Ciencia José Babini de la Universidad Nacional de San Martín

Cali, Colombia, 12th March
Event Title: “Innovación, Sostenibilidad y Desarrollo: Análisis de un Caso de Agricultura, Agroindustria y Bioindustria como una Bioeconomía Regional” (Innovation, Sustainability, and Development: Analysis of the Case of Agriculture, Agro-industry and Bio-industry as part of a Regional Bio-Economy)
Host: Corporación Biotec, CIAT campus

Attendance to all three Roundtables is by invitation only. For more information, email steps-centre@ids.ac.uk

From my own experience, a significant event in the history of science and technology is the first image of the Earth from space. The photograph was captured on Christmas Eve 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission, and was published over 40 years ago in January 1969. That a team of astronauts could travel to space is a great feat and of huge significance for science and technology. The creativity and intelligence of the human mind astounds, and surely has much to offer to sustainability and development.

However, the significance of the image is also symbolic. This image inspired the environmental movement as the social movement as we know it today. This image brought an awareness of a global environment. Seen as the ‘blue marble’ suspended in space, the potential fragility and finiteness of the Earth became apparent. Focus widened to an awareness of more global or transnational threats, and a dialogue between the green movement, which became institutionalised in environmental NGOs, and the private sector and governments was established worldwide.

The significance of the environmental movement today can be seen in its “impact on cultural values and society’s institutions”, in its “distinctive place in the landscape of human adventure”, and how it is “at the root of a dramatic reversal in the ways in which we think about the relationship between economy, society, and nature, thus inducing a new culture” (Castells, 1997). The importance of this ‘new culture’ for sustainability and development is that it links the public with ideas and progress in innovation and technology.

The pursuit of science and technology does not take place in a vacuum, it is given legitimacy by civil society. The environmental movement served as a two-way bridge between the research, design and development in innovation and sustainability and their intended sites for use and implementation, the public sphere. This is a two-way communication whereby civil society informs innovation and sustainability and vice versa, a symbiotic relationship driving science and technology forward on a greener path.

Source: Castells, M. (1997) The Power of Identity. Oxford: Blackwell Publications.

Entry submitted by Orla Martin

There has been no space in Africa which has really encompassed women in politics, development and decision making. Women have been excluded in decision making process in many patriarchal societies. There is a need for creating awareness that women can (!), yes they can, and we should campaign for their inclusion in decision making processes and increased representation in Parliament.

Entry submitted by Perpetua Ng’ang’a

Source: FAO (UN)

Entry submitted by David Havelick

Source: UNESCO http://portal.unesco.org/shs/admin/ev.php?URL_ID=6349&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1263744318

Entry submitted by Geoffrey Kololi Wanyama

The TRIPS agreement’s goal was to standardize the way intellectual property rights are protected around the world in order to provide inventors with an incentive to produce ideas that will benefit society as a whole. “It strikes a balance between the long term benefits and possible short term costs to society. Society benefits in the long term when intellectual property protection encourages creation and invention, especially when the period of protection expires and the creations and inventions enter the public domain.” (WTO website on TRIPS)

Nevertheless the TRIPS agreement has been criticised for limiting access to medicine in developing countries and distributing wealth from the developing countries to the developed ones. In response to these concerns the Doha Declaration was released in 2001 reinterpreting the agreement “in a manner supportive of WTO members” (WTO website on Doha) right to protect public health and, in particular, “to promote access to medicines for all” and reaffirming the provision for flexibility to circumvent patent rights for this purpose.

Sources:

WTO website on the TRIPS agreement http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm

WTO website on the Doha Declaration http://www.wto.org/english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min01_e/mindecl_trips_e.htm

Entry submitted by Samantha Krawczyk

This film was so shocking and successful that it became a worldwide phenomenon, the most-watched documentary, seen by an estimated audience of 5 million people.

Since its release in 2006 the film has helped awaken governments, leaders, organizations and individuals across the world to take action on global warming.

Entry submitted by Jurgita Zukauskaite

Source: OECD website

Entry submitted by Rosalie Lehel

Entry submitted by Maira Devisscher