Freedom and Responsibility in Science - WELLINGTON

Science today faces many challenges:

• Scientific and academic freedoms are declining worldwide as anti-science ideology becomes imbedded in many of the world’s governments.
• State obligations towards enabling science as a human right remain chronically ignored.
• Irresponsible scientific conduct and governance of all kinds increasingly undermine science from within.
• The tally of wars and crises which rob the world of the scientific talent held by entire nations is growing year by year.

At precisely the moment when scientific progress on some of the existential threats to humanity is most urgent, science itself is under more pressure than perhaps ever before. So, what can we do?

Join the Royal Society Te Apārangi for a wide-ranging panel discussion about the many threats to the integrity of science around the world, how they can be addressed, and New Zealand’s place in the global context.

The panel features expert guest speakers from the International Science Council’s (ISC) Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science:

• Marcia Barbosa is International Science Council (ISC) Vice-President for Freedom and Responsibility in Science. She is a physicist and rector at University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, science policy expert and globally recognised advocate for gender equality in science.
• Robert French is the former Chief Justice of Australia and former Chancellor of the University of Western Australia.
• Karly Kehoe has been heavily involved in the ISC’s Science in Time of Crisis project around threats faced by scientists and academics during times of war. She is Professor of History, Saint Mary’s University, Canada.
• Krushil Watene, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Auckland, weaves together the relationship between science and Indigenous knowledge systems, particularly mātauranga Māori.

The panel will be led in conversation by Dacia Herbulock, Director of the Science Media Centre New Zealand.

About the ISC Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science:

The Committee monitors trends related to scientific and academic freedom globally, advises the ISC on official statements and positions, and advocates for the Principles of Freedom and Responsibility in Science. The Committee also engages in major projects at the intersection of science, human rights, and philosophy, such as the ISC’s recent interpretation of The Right to Participate in and Benefit from Science.

Event details:
5:40pm - Doors open
6:00pm - Panel discussion
7:15pm - Networking with drinks and canapés till 8:15pm