The 3rd World Laureates Forum (photo: CCTV)
The importance of science development and cooperation between all people seems unprecedentedly apparent this year, as the world witnesses how global scientists work together amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in curing patients and developing vaccines, top scientists worldwide pointed out on Friday.
The 3rd World Laureates Forum, one of the world’s largest science and technology forums, being held in Shanghai from Friday to Sunday, gathers more than 300 global scientists, including 61 Nobel Prize winners, to participate in this scientific feast online or offline, and discuss current topics of concern, such as the global spread of the coronavirus.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a video message at the forum’s opening ceremony, saying that scientists from around the world have made great contributions to the fight against the COVID-19.
China will implement a more open, inclusive and mutually beneficial strategy of international scientific and technological cooperation, Xi noted. China is willing to work with top scientists and organizations in promoting scientific development, said Xi.
2006 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Roger Kornberg said at the forum that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic is an inspiring example of global cooperation. Scientists and researchers from [worldwide] universities, research institutes and industries have been working on exploring treatments to the virus to prevent the spread of the pandemic, Kornberg said, who is also the chairman of the World Laureates Association (WLA) that initiates the forum.
The world has never experienced such large scales of disaster and international cooperation, Kornberg said in the forum’s opening speech, noting that the COVID-19 problem will surely be solved in the next year or so through joint efforts.
The ongoing forum announced the creation of a foundation for the development of top global scientists in Shanghai. The foundation will focus on projects regarding worldwide scientific communication and education, innovative talent growth, and the development of scientific communities.
A WLA Science Community at Shanghai Lingang Free Trade Zone, for instance, was announced to open for the first time on Friday since it started construction in 2018.
Home to several WLA’s international joint laboratories and headquarters of top global scientific organizations, this 2.5-square-kilometer community in Pudong New Area will focus on the research, development and industrialization of frontline scientific areas such as biomedicine, artificial intelligence AI, integrated circuits, new energy and quantum science, the forum said.
More than 130 speeches of top scientists and over 70 discussions in the fields of basic sciences and applied technologies will be organized online and offline during the three-day forum being held by the Shanghai government.
Global Times