A major five-day Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development will be held on June 11 through 15, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the days just prior to the Rio+20 Conference.
The Forum will bring together leading International scientists and policy-makers to explore the key role of interdisciplinary science and innovation in the transition to sustainable development, a green economy and poverty eradication. The aim is to help establish the research, technology and policy agendas that will be needed after Rio+20. Participants will discuss key questions for sustainable development, including:
- How can we balance food, water and energy security for rapidly growing, increasingly urbanized populations, without diminishing the Earth’s resources and exceeding planetary boundaries?
- How can we ensure economic sustainability and human well-being in a time of rapid environmental and social change?
- How can science better serve society to provide the knowledge needed to meet sustainable development challenges?
The Forum will also host the launch of the new global 10-year initiative: Future Earth – research for global sustainability. Future Earth is a joint initiative of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Belmont Forum (IGFA Council of Principals), UNEP, UNU and UNESCO, with WMO as an observer. The Forum is open and free for all participants throughout the five days. Government representatives, scientists and other Rio+20 stakeholders are welcome to attend. The Forum is organised by the International Council for Science (ICSU), in partnership with UNESCO, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. It will be held at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Registration, background, agenda, speakers, side events and practical information are all online.
