Science, politique et société

Nous avons abordé de nombreux thèmes lors de notre étude auprès de la jeunesse du monde et du panel de 100 personnalités. Voici quelques exemples de questions qui ont été abordées :

Le monde n’a jamais formé autant d’ingénieurs, la technologie n’a jamais été aussi présente dans la vie de milliards d’individus ; on pourrait aujourd’hui bâtir un monde durable, au moins « techniquement ».

Or on observe une défiance vis à vis des scientifiques, des politiques… Comment dépasser ce nouveau point de blocage ?

Comment réconcilier science, politique et société ? Comment reconnecter les réalités scientifiques du développement durable avec les contingences quotidiennes de la vie des citoyens (emploi, qualité de vie, transport, etc.) ?

Doit-on pour cela faire évoluer nos modèles politiques et éducatifs ?

Quelques extraits d'interviews en lien avec ce thème :

• We are all aware of the arguments from politicians and biologists, but for people to really want to change you have to connect with their emotions and artists have an essential role to play in that. My underwater sculptures are designed to ensure they aggregate fish and provide a suitable substrate for corals to settle, while diverting tourists away from natural reefs. They have no ownership; they belong to the sea, a communal space, with no visual boundaries that really demonstrates how we are all part of the same planet.
  Jason deCaires Taylor (Royaume-Uni), Fondateur et Directeur Artistique du Musée de l’Art Sous marin de Cancun.

• In our interconnected world, we need to break down traditional silos of academic disciplines, for our graduates to be better prepared to address the emerging issues of sustainability, grounded in the humanitarian values and cross-disciplinary thinking that can and should be one of the hallmarks of a great liberal arts and science education.
  Amy Gutmann (USA), préside l’Université de Pennsylvanie et professeur de sciences politiques.

• Reaching the goal of long-tem sustainability of the biosphere requires us to coordinate and collaborate on a scale that has never been seen before. We cannot simply design a program to “save the biosphere”. Rather, the first prerequisite for solving such a large and complex system is to guide the development of a “global brain”, an emergent property arising from the integration of people and knowledge on a vast, unparalleled scale. We must promote open innovation through non-traditional structures, which can facilitate interaction among all stakeholders, including scientists, entrepreneurs, young leaders, and professional artists seeking to explore and nurture the vibrant intersection between art and science. This is precisely one of the strategic objectives of the B2 Institute at the University of Arizona—a unique think tank and research incubator that addresses the scientific Grand Challenges of our time.
  Joaquin Ruiz (USA), Directeur Général de Colleges of Letters, Arts and Science, Professeur de Geochemistry à l'Université d'Arizona, et Directeur de Biosphère 2, un large système de recherches de données scientifiques.

• In theory, we all want global rules, but we also need to ensure that they are properly implemented locally. We need “to think globally and act locally”, but also to “think locally and act globally”. Both are needed. We also need to enhance the United Nations to help effectively in the management of Natural resources, but at the same time improve the internal management of the United Nations themselves to serve efficiently the peoples.
  Michael Scoullos (Grèce), Président de MIO-ECSDE (Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development) et de GWP-Med (Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean).

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