STS forum’s Annual Meeting Held in Kyoto

The 2009 Annual Meeting of the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum was held on 4-6 October. JSPS planned and carried out its 203-F3 Session, “Proposals from Young Scientists.”

About the 2009 STS forum’s Annual Meeting

More than 800 people from 85 countries, regions and international agencies attended what can be called the science and technology version of World Economic Forum in Davos. Venued in the Kyoto International Conference Center, this year’s STS forum’s Annual Meeting assembled people of knowledge and wisdom, including scientists, policymakers, business people and opinion leaders, to discuss effective ways to advance, while suitably controlling, science and technology. In this respect, they exchanged views on the topic “Lights and Shadows of Science and Technology.” Held in early October every year, this was the sixth in the series of STS forum’s Annual Meetings.

Discussions in both the plenary and concurrent sessions focused on the theme “Energy and Environment”; on the last day a statement was drafted and released on points of agreement in those discussions. The statement can be viewed on the following website: http://www.stsforum.org/press/PDF/2009/2009Statement_en.pdf

203-F3 Session participants with JSPS president Prof. Ono

203-F3 Session activity

203-F3 Session

The 203-F3 Session was established via a request from the STS forum Council to create a session that assembles young scientists with high potential to become world leaders in their fields of specialization and that gives them a platform to discuss future S&T prospects and vistas and compile a proposal on the conclusions reached, while fostering young scientists and building networks among them. Based on this request, the 203-F3 Session was established and held for the first time last year. The STS forum entrusted the planning and implementation of this session to JSPS.

Held this year on 5 October, the 203-F3 Session was chaired by Prof. Kiyoshi Kurokawa, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. Eight young scientists from countries around the world served as speakers in the session. Selected by JSPS and the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), they hailed from Japan, Europe, North America, South America and Africa. The session also enjoyed the participation of Nobel laureates.

A dialogue on the theme was actively advanced and expanded through discussions on the following four topics: “Empowering Young Scientists to Succeed,” “Establishing Improved Networks of Young Scientists,” “Envisioning the Next Frontiers in Science and Technology,” and “Engaging in the Social Responsibilities of Science and Technology.” The results of the session’s discussion were reported at a later plenary session by Prof. Mohamed Hassan, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). The discussion results were also compiled into a proposal by the 203-F3 Session.

Making observations at NIMS

Study Tours

After the Annual Meeting, the young scientists participated in study tours. They made observation visits to the Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU) at the University of Tokyo, the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Keio University, where frontline scientists described the facilities’ cutting-edge research to the young scientists and, fielding questions, engaged in spirited exchanges of views with them. Besides giving the young scientists firsthand knowledge of leading-edge research being advanced in Japan, the study tours also helped them to make contacts with potential future collaborators.

- Research Cooperation Division Ⅱ