Final Report Summary - SCIENCE AGAINST POVERTY (Science against poverty - Conference under the Spanish Presidency) The conference focused on what can Research, technological development and innovation (RTD&I) do to fight poverty in the world, and paid special attention on how European and national research and innovation policies should be designed and adapted so that they reflect a responsible compromise of science programmes towards fighting poverty and exclusion. The role of socio-economic sciences in understanding the poverty dynamics and in proposing plausible remedies were a focal point of the conference. Except for this initial objective it is to be mentioned the important fact that the conference conclusions were taken and were adopted by the Competitiveness Council as council conclusions on the social dimension of the European Research Area (ERA) in May 2010. The creation of 'Science against poverty' initiative Task force (TF) that dealt with giving contributions towards the advancement of the council conclusions orientations took place in September 2010. The project team coordinated the work of the TF, which was presented at the final project workshop held in Brussels in December 2010. These results were achieved because of the very fruitful collaboration the project team has had with the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) and the European Commission (EC). Project results and have been disseminated via its webpage (please see http://www.scienceagainstpoverty.com) via live web streaming of the conference in April 2010 and two conferences the project coordinator has been invited during summer and autumn 2010. Except for these acknowledgeable results, the project has fulfilled the following deliverables: the improved conference website, the minutes of TF meetings, the preparation and collaboration activities, the production of printed material for the event and press announcement, report on 'Science against poverty' event, and report on TF conclusions. The MICINN together with the EC organised the 'Science against poverty' conference. This conference was the most visible action during the EU Presidency under the heading of inclusion. Its goal was to convey a clear message to society, to make clear the contribution that science and innovation bring to the fight against poverty and exclusion. The conference looked at how can science can help alleviate the problems caused by poverty. Some are urgent, such as global access to innovative medical technologies and medicines or inequalities in access to internet, and some take a longer view, looking for an understanding of the social dynamics that cause poverty and the mechanisms to create and maintain economically sustainable communities, without overlooking on how to engage all actors in this challenge and the promotion of entrepreneurship in the social field. The conference's main objective was to increase the visibility and bring awareness to the value that scientific research and innovation have in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, and as well include the social dimensions of science on the political agenda. The two days conference was inaugurated by the MICINN, Cristina Garmendia whose speech was preceded by a panel discussion moderated by journalist Lourdes Maldonado, with the participation of Felipe Gonzalez, former Prime Minister of Spain, Eduard Punset, science writer, and Pedro Alonso, Prince of Asturias awarded researcher. The conference had 12 parallel sessions, 6 parallel sessions on specific topics (food and nutrition, know poverty, reduce the gap of knowledge, energy, environment and climate change, water and sanitation, health) and 6 parallel sessions transverse (stakeholders involvement, education and training, innovative solutions, gender and development social and political sciences, creating sustainable business). Both the Secretary of State for Research and Director General of International Cooperation and Institutional Relations at MICINN closured the conference. The event was attended by personalities and leaders of major global importance, both of the political landscape and the scientific community, civil society and the private sector. 230 participants attended the conference, 40 journalists followed the sessions to report back to their media, and 200 internet visitors followed the opening and some of the sessions online via web streaming. The conclusions of the conference were taken as high in the political agenda as the Competitiveness Council. They were translated into the council conclusions on the social dimension of the European Research Area and were approved by the 27 Member States on 26 May 2010. The overall results of the conference acknowledge the ability of research and innovation to give concrete answers to the demands of society. They are important to support social science research and the debate on the principles of responsible research. According to the conclusions, it is important to ensure that the objectives of ERA can help meet social objectives and to incorporate the contributions of civil society organisations and citizens in the development of research and innovation agenda of the European Union (EU). In summary, it is important to continue the policy guidelines and join forces in order to progress in achieving the social dimension of the European Research Area. This would be achieved by exploring ways and means to increase the visibility of actions that will address aspects of the social dimension of the European Research Area, encouraging the contribution of civil society and citizens to develop strategic research agendas, increasing scientific interest in relevant social problems and sharing best practices in promoting the social dimension in research and innovation. And finally, these conclusions finalise with the proposition of having future Presidency conferences to deal with aspects of the social dimension of the European Research Area. Related documents Final Report - SCIENCE AGAINST POVERTY (Science against poverty conference under the Spanish Presidency)
