The 22nd Science Council of Asia Conference held in Seoul, South Korea. Photo from Science Council of Asia.
UPRI attended The 22nd Science Council of Asia conference which was held between October 19 and October 21 of 2023. The event was sponsored and organized by the Science Council of Asia (SCA) as well as the Korean National Academy of Sciences and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology. The SCA’s overarching goal is to develop and promote a holistic vision focusing on sustainable development and improvement in quality of life. It took place at the Hoam Faculty House Convention Center. There were 8 topics mentioned that the conference would revolve around starting with “Advances in Science and Technology for Sustainable Development”, “Biotechnology for Human Well-Being”, “Humanities and Social Sciences For Better Living Society”, “Emerging Technologies and Capacity Building in COVID-19 Pandemic”, “Mega-Data and AI technologies for Human Well-Being”, “Resilient Recovery from Climate Change”, and “Education in the Digital Transformation Era”. Speakers at the Conference included esteemed guests such as Ban Ki-moon, former UN secretary general, Prof. Chowdhury Abul Kalam Azad, president of the Bangladesh Academy of Science, Prof. Xue Qi-Kun, president of the Southern University of Science and Technology China, among others.
Photo from Facebook Page of Professional Org. of Researchers and Educators of the Philippines – POREP and Dr. Raymund Moreno.
Ban Ki-Moon delivered a speech about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His address emphasized the concept of global citizenship, compassion, and the pressing need for immediate action in the face of the mounting climate crisis. Ban Ki-Moon emphasized that Climate Change is his number one priority. He also added the importance of scientists in generating knowledge and informing people. And failure to solve it will result in everyone’s death. He then says that “if someone claims to be a leader, they have to have passion and compassion. The problem is most leaders only have passion – they use only their energy and leadership only for political gain.” Ban Ki-Moon reiterates that global citizenship is when you have passion and compassion and urged all the scientists in attendance to be a global citizen.
8th UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon delivered a plenary speech during the conference. Photo from Dr. Mahar Lagmay.
The UPRI talk “Insights from the Philippine Experience of Resilient Recovery from Disasters and Climate Change” was presented by Executive Director Dr. Mahar Lagmay during the conference’s Special Session for Future Earth Asia.