, Beijing, Oct. 17 (Wang Yanhua, Intern Liu Yiran) -- Sponsored by China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), the 2019 World Conference on Science Literacy (WCSL) was held in Beijing on October 16. At the Conference, Huai Jinpeng, Executive Vice President of CAST and Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), delivered a speech titled "Promoting Science Literacy for A New Future -- Trust, Cooperation and Development".
Huai Jinpeng systematically expounded on the importance of science literacy from three dimensions: science literacy for sustainable development, technology for the people, and deepening cooperation on science literacy promotion. He shared with participants the explorations and practices of China in leveraging science and technology to serve the people and in promoting public science literacy.
In regard to science literacy for sustainable development, Huai stressed that the essence of human development lies in people's development and the overall improvement of people's qualities, in which science literacy plays the most important and the most critical part. The world is undergoing stupendous changes unseen in a century. The human society is moving from the information age to the age of intelligence, and a new round of S&T revolution and industrial transformation is taking shape. The transdisciplinary integration between science and technology, between technology and economy and between technology and society is getting more and more prominent. Therefore, it requires the concerted efforts of all countries across the world to enable science and technology to coexist in harmony with and develop in tandem with economy, society, culture and ecosystem, because we only have one planet, which is our community of shared future.
In terms of science literacy promotion, Huai introduced China's practices in building an open platform to bring together all social forces to popularize social sciences and to promote science literacy. From the dimensions of "enrich the platforms and channels", "guide value orientation", "consolidate the infrastructures", "enliven the society" and "make science literacy promotion a national action and a national plan", he elaborated on CAST's ultimate mission of improving the science literacy of all people and leveraging science and technology to serve the people, as well as the important efforts made by CAST in communicating science and improving public science literacy.
Huai stressed that all nations are taking active actions in response to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the promotion of public science literacy hasn't given full play to its important role in the face of upcoming challenges. At present, the gap in science literacy is widening rather than narrowing; the gap between civilizations is forming rather than bridging; and unbalanced development is worsening rather than improving. All these problems are jeopardizing our sustainable development and the effective improvement of human qualities. We look forward to seeing a sustainable world in which all nations are united for the improvement of public science literacy and the sustainable development of the world.
