Swiss-backed project aims to avert new 'Cold War' in science
Switzerland's foreign minister says concerns about a "new Cold War" over science and technology are a major reason behind the creation of a new think tank that looks out for future advances and development - so that the whole world can benefit, not just rich countries.
Ignazio Cassis delivered a video message for the inaugural "summit" on Thursday (Oct 7) and Friday of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator, or GESDA, a Swiss government-backed project that aims to bridge government policy and science in an international city known for both. "There is a growing feeling that a new Cold War is about to be fought over science and technology, and the power they confer to the states that master them," he said.
GESDA, which brings together hundreds of scientists and policymakers worldwide, would serve as an "honest broker" that helps spread the benefits of science to countries rich and poor, he said. "What we are trying to achieve with GESDA is new, and hence, difficult: To link anticipation that looks far ahead, with action that is immediate is a major challenge in itself," Cassis said.
While conceived in 2019, GESDA has started to look prescient during the COVID-19 pandemic that caught many governments off guard, drew an uncertain or unclear response by health policy makers like the Geneva-based World Health Organization, and has exposed gaping inequality between the rich countries that have wide access to vaccines - and poor countries that don't.
Pandemic preparedness projects and monitoring bodies have popped up in places like Europe and the United States since the outbreak, and the Biden administration has shown interest in the GESDA project -- and its focus on anticipating future trends and developments. Alondra Nelson, deputy director for science and society for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. noted US President Joe Biden has spoken about today's moment "of great peril and great promise," and she said governments should be bold about both innovation and partnership.
