What roles for science in times of crisis? Perspectives in the interconnected fields of health, environment and agriculture
David Nabarro, WHO Special Envoy for COVID-19, will open the international conference organized by the Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions (MAK'IT) of the University of Montpellier, in collaboration with the South Centre, on the theme: "What roles for science in times of crisis? Perspectives in the interconnected fields of health, environment and agriculture". The conference will take place this Thursday, April 7, 2022, in person at the Institut de Botanique in Montpellier, and online.
This event provides a forum for dialogue between scientists, policy-makers and other players involved in crisis management, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Discussions will focus on new scenarios for health, environmental and agricultural crises and their various dimensions. They will examine the complex interactions at play between science, politics and the public arena, as well as the role of scientists in the search for ways out of crises.
Discussions organized around three themes, with panels featuring renowned international personalities
Moderated by Patrick Caron, vice-president in charge of international relations at the University of Montpellier and director of MAK'IT, the first panel, which will debate the question "New crises, new roles for science and scientists? "is made up of Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Vice-President of the Club of Rome, Melissa Leach, Director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Timothy Coombs, Abell Professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University (USA), Alexander Müller, Founder and Director of TMG, Think Tank for Sustainability, and Fatima Denton, Director of the Institute for Natural Resources in Africa at the United Nations University (UNU-INRA).
The second panel will address the question "Science-policy-public interaction in times of crisis: what kind of organizational model?" and will be moderated by Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IPBES board member and former Director General of IUCN. Panelists include: Carlos Correa, Managing Director of the South Centre, Michel Dubois, CNRS Research Director, Director of the Gemass Lab (Sorbonne University, Paris) and co-director of the Revue française de sociologie, Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), Sélim Louafi, Deputy Director of CIRAD's "Amélioration génétique et adaptation des plantes méditerranéennes et tropicales" (AGAP) research unit, and Janos Pasztor , Executive Director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G) and former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Climate Change.
Finally, Sonja Vermeulen, Director of Programs at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), will moderate a third panel: "Scientists in crisis? Keys to navigating a landscape of complex queries" composed of Oluchi Ezekannagha, Coordinator of the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub Working Group, Paul Shrivastava, Director of the Sustainability Institute at Pennsylvania State University (USA), Gary Machlis, Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Clemson University (USA), former Science Advisor to the Director of the US National Park Service (NPS), Nick Ishmael-Perkins, independent consultant and former Director of SciDev.Net and Vivi Stavrou, Executive Secretary of the Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science at the International Science Council (ISC).
Practical information:
Date : Thursday, April 7, 2022
Detailedschedule and program on makit2022conference
E-mail
Interpretation will be available in French and English.