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World Science Forum opens in Budapest

Xinhua, November 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Seventh World Science Forum on Wednesday opened in Budapest to more than 900 participants from over 100 countries.

Themed "The Enabling Power of Science," the event focused on a more responsible and ethical use of science in addressing environmental and health challenges. It is sponsored by the United Nations, the International Council for Science (ICSU), and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), among others.

Laszlo Lovasz, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and of the World Science Forum, who is hosting the gathering, noted that having a small country like Hungary as a home to the forum was a sign that every country, large or small, had a responsibility for global issues.

Scientists, he said, are deeply interested in peace and are opposed to all forms of prejudice. As such, he suggested, they could help overcome hatred, envy, and bigotry.

Science, he said, enabled people to gain a deeper insight into pressing issues and challenges such as climate change, renewable energy, disaster risk reduction, and health policies, among other factors.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an honored guest at the forum, used the occasion to warn that Europe was being inundated by the current migration wave and was failing to see the challenges to its culture, way of life, and order.

Orban said that the real crisis was fear that "we have run out of options and do not have the power or knowledge to keep living life as usual." Orban called for jointly exploring the possibilities within the new challenges and underlined the significance of conferences like World Science Forum in doing so.

Gordon McBean, President of International Council for Science, said science has the ability to provide a glimpse into the future. "It is important for decision-makers to make political decisions for sustainable development based on science experiences," he said.

The World Science Forum has been held every other year since 2003. The first five gatherings were held in Budapest, and in the meantime it was decided to hold every other meeting outside of Europe. The 2013 meeting was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the next one will be in Jordan in 2017.

The four-day event will continue through Saturday. Enditem