A successful seminar brings SET-DEV project to its end
9 May 2011
Austria
The SET-DEV (Science, ethics and technological responsibility in developing and emerging countries) final seminar was successfully celebrated on the 3rd of May at the European Economic and Social Committee /EESC) with the attendance of high relevant speakers and representatives from the European Parliament, the European Commission, Brussels based worldwide Embassies and organizations specifically involved in Ethics and Development research.
The seminar, titled “RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT: THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF SCIENCE. The Policy and Ethical Perspectives of a Dialogue among India, Africa and Europe, was opened by Ms Madi Sharma, representative of the European Economic and Social Committee.
She pointed out that the development in India and Africa is a priority in two different aspects: from the development side and from the trade and entrepreneurship side. She added that “we need to look at consultation and dialogue” and what support poverty alleviation and development, and stimulated SET-DEV partners to do an impact assessment “that’s just one of the aspects, of why”. She finally encouraged all SET-DEV partners saying that “what you are doing here today is important for the EESC also” “we can probably use the findings”, and “everything you are doing within this project, for me is to be praised”.
Furthermore, Mr Francesco Fusaro, from Unit “Gender and Ethics”, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission, SET-DEV project officer, intervened in the first session of the seminar. He thanked the SET-DEV partners for the work done since 2008 and the results achieved by the project. He emphasised some concepts pointed out during the presentations such as the fact that “innovation has to be accepted by society”, the importance of the “involvement of civil society organisations” that was stressed in both manifestos and the need to foster “new ways of producing and circulating knowledge”. He added that “one of the challenges is that of creating a research which is responsible” and in which the actors are responsible to each other”. “This is the way of creating what is a social and ethical acceptable innovation.”
Divided into two sessions, the first part of the morning, was devoted to the presentation of the SET-DEV project main results: the “Knowledge Swaraj” or Indian Manifesto on Science and Technology introduced by Mr Shambu Prasad from Centre for World Solidarity (India); the “African Manifesto for Science, Technology and Innovation”, presented by Ms Wairimu Mwangi, from African Technology Policy Studies; the pilot projects carried out in India and Kenya and the Guidelines titled “Technological responsibility. Guidelines for a shared governance of the processes of socialisation of scientific research and innovation, within an interconnected world”, presented by Mr Daniele Mezzana, from Laboratory of Citizenship Science (Italy).
The second session of the meeting was a round table discussion focused on the lessons learned from the project in the perspective of the Europe-Third countries scientific cooperation. The partners and the participants discussed around the project development after the end of it and future perspectives also in consideration of the next Framework Programme and the open consultation to the Green Paper.
Dr. Alfonso Alfonsi, scientific coordinator of the project, reflecting on the work executed in the project in preparation of the Manifestos, said that “while S&T has to be routed and contextualized in given societies or communities, on the other hand, there is another community and another society in which we have to contextualize S&R that is the global knowledge society, that is nowadays the global society”.
Among the participants, Dr Maurizio Salvi, Member of the Bureau of European Policy Advisors (BEPA), highlighted the importance of the “notion of innovation with regards to the link with societal output for marketing purposes” that “is going to be materialized in the next FP”, where innovation policy is part of the macro-economic strategy and globalisation process. He added that the notion of values and the notion of ethical consideration and policy frame is a legal requirement of the EU, and “this has to impact in all domains, including the science, technology policy domains”.
The audience participated largely in the discussion pointing out some of the results of the project and discussing about the implementation of those in the next framework.
To conclude, Mr Wiebe Bijker, from the University of Maastricht and chair of the session, thanked all attendees and the speakers and stressed out the need to take into account the messages of SET-DEV project to improve the relationship between India, Africa and Europe.
The seminar, titled “RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT: THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF SCIENCE. The Policy and Ethical Perspectives of a Dialogue among India, Africa and Europe, was opened by Ms Madi Sharma, representative of the European Economic and Social Committee.
She pointed out that the development in India and Africa is a priority in two different aspects: from the development side and from the trade and entrepreneurship side. She added that “we need to look at consultation and dialogue” and what support poverty alleviation and development, and stimulated SET-DEV partners to do an impact assessment “that’s just one of the aspects, of why”. She finally encouraged all SET-DEV partners saying that “what you are doing here today is important for the EESC also” “we can probably use the findings”, and “everything you are doing within this project, for me is to be praised”.
Furthermore, Mr Francesco Fusaro, from Unit “Gender and Ethics”, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission, SET-DEV project officer, intervened in the first session of the seminar. He thanked the SET-DEV partners for the work done since 2008 and the results achieved by the project. He emphasised some concepts pointed out during the presentations such as the fact that “innovation has to be accepted by society”, the importance of the “involvement of civil society organisations” that was stressed in both manifestos and the need to foster “new ways of producing and circulating knowledge”. He added that “one of the challenges is that of creating a research which is responsible” and in which the actors are responsible to each other”. “This is the way of creating what is a social and ethical acceptable innovation.”
Divided into two sessions, the first part of the morning, was devoted to the presentation of the SET-DEV project main results: the “Knowledge Swaraj” or Indian Manifesto on Science and Technology introduced by Mr Shambu Prasad from Centre for World Solidarity (India); the “African Manifesto for Science, Technology and Innovation”, presented by Ms Wairimu Mwangi, from African Technology Policy Studies; the pilot projects carried out in India and Kenya and the Guidelines titled “Technological responsibility. Guidelines for a shared governance of the processes of socialisation of scientific research and innovation, within an interconnected world”, presented by Mr Daniele Mezzana, from Laboratory of Citizenship Science (Italy).
The second session of the meeting was a round table discussion focused on the lessons learned from the project in the perspective of the Europe-Third countries scientific cooperation. The partners and the participants discussed around the project development after the end of it and future perspectives also in consideration of the next Framework Programme and the open consultation to the Green Paper.
Dr. Alfonso Alfonsi, scientific coordinator of the project, reflecting on the work executed in the project in preparation of the Manifestos, said that “while S&T has to be routed and contextualized in given societies or communities, on the other hand, there is another community and another society in which we have to contextualize S&R that is the global knowledge society, that is nowadays the global society”.
Among the participants, Dr Maurizio Salvi, Member of the Bureau of European Policy Advisors (BEPA), highlighted the importance of the “notion of innovation with regards to the link with societal output for marketing purposes” that “is going to be materialized in the next FP”, where innovation policy is part of the macro-economic strategy and globalisation process. He added that the notion of values and the notion of ethical consideration and policy frame is a legal requirement of the EU, and “this has to impact in all domains, including the science, technology policy domains”.
The audience participated largely in the discussion pointing out some of the results of the project and discussing about the implementation of those in the next framework.
To conclude, Mr Wiebe Bijker, from the University of Maastricht and chair of the session, thanked all attendees and the speakers and stressed out the need to take into account the messages of SET-DEV project to improve the relationship between India, Africa and Europe.