Paris, 13 Jan 2004
Science and technology ministers and senior officials from more than 30 countries will meet at OECD headquarters in Paris on 29-30 January 2004 to discuss a range of policy challenges calling for increased international co-operation.
The meeting will be chaired by Australian Science Minister Peter McGauran, with as vice-chairs France's Minister for Research and New Technologies, Claudie Haigneré, Spain's Minister of Science and Technology, Juan Costa Climent and the Director General of Mexico's National Council on Science and Technology, Jaime Parada Ávila. Other participants will include ministers from other OECD countries and from China, Israel, Russia and South Africa.
Themes of the two-day meeting will focus on policies to improve links between public and private research, on measures to ensure appropriate training, development and mobility of scientists and other highly qualified personnel, and on the role of science and technology in responding to global challenges including security and safety.
A high-level debating Forum on the afternoon of 29 January, involving both ministers and prominent figures from the world of science and technology, will be open to the media and will be Web cast on the OECD's Web site www.oecd.org/cstp2004min. Keynote speakers at this Forum will be: the 2001 Nobel Prize winner for Chemistry, Prof. Ryoji Noyori of Japan; the director for technology policy at Nokia, Dr. Erkki Ormala; the chair of Italy's Bracco Group, Dr. Diana Bracco; and the President of the Swiss National Research Council, Prof. Heidi Diggelmann.
Journalists are also invited to attend a number of other events as follows:
29 January
- 11.00 a.m. Briefing by Dr. Baldwin Sipho Ngubane, Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology of South Africa on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development
- 12.00 noon. Briefing by Maria van der Hoeven, Minister for Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands on challenges in ensuring access to research data from public funding
- 1.00 p.m. Briefing lunch with OECD Secretariat officials on current OECD work on the other main topics of the ministerial meeting, including biotechnology
- 7.00 p.m. Reception with Forum participants at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Grande Galerie de l'Evolution, Jardin des Plantes, 36 rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 75005 Paris. Briefing with the Chair and vice-chairs of the Ministerial meeting.
30 January
3.00 p.m. Communiqué and closing news briefing by the chair of the Ministerial meeting, Australian Science Minister Peter McGauran, OECD Secretary-General Donald J. Johnston and other Ministers.
Full details of the two-day event, including the agenda and list of participants, are available at www.oecd.org/cstp2004min, where updated information about media opportunities will also be provided. For further information and to register for the Forum and the briefings, journalists are invited to contact the OECD's Media Relations Division (tel. [33] 1 45 24 97 00).
http://www.oecd.org