President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, Michel Spiro, has declared open the ‘International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development’, at an event in Paris. The IUPAP President has described basic sciences as foundations of education.

He stated this on Friday, 8 July 2022, at the opening ceremony of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, IYBSSD2022.

IYBSSD begins

The event took place at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. According to the IUPAP President, basic sciences are sources of discoveries, which turn into applications to drive inclusive and sustainable development.

Spiro, while explaining that basic sciences are curiosity and inquiry driven, said: “They are helping to improve global equity and well-being, together with a healthy and lively planet. Hence, we want to promote them during the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development”.

49 unions, 110 academies

He said that 49 international scientific unions and research organizations are already leading IYBSSD2022 as members of its Steering Committee.

“And 110 national science academies, scientific networks and associations are supporting the movement. We hope, and we know, that these figures will increase all along the year. “All these organizations will set up thousands of events during this International Year which will inspire greater engagement with science, encourage young people towards careers in the field, and highlight the value of fundamental research for society at large. “These events can be local, territorial, national, regional and flagship global events in each continent (Vietnam for Asia, Serbia for Europe, Rwanda for Africa, Morocco for Arab Countries, Honduras for South America and hopefully one event in North America and one in Oceania),” Spiro added.