The Right to Science

We all have a human right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress (the Right to Science [RtS]). The right has its origins in Article 27 of the United Nation’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted in the wake of World War II. In 1966, the UN turned these commitments into binding obligations under international law. The implication is that, just as governments are expected to respect the rights to, say, freedom of speech and due process, so they must also adopt measures to respect and ensure the RtS. The existence of this right is important for researchers and society. It adds a legal and moral dimension to a range of fundamental issues, including scientific freedom, funding, and policy, as well as access to data, materials, and knowledge. Yet, despite its potential for furthering science and human rights causes, the RtS has not received the attention it deserves.

gloknos is delighted to collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of researchers involved in furthering our understanding of the RtS and its implementation as a universal right. We are organising the RtS Symposium as well as hosting a workshop in the coming months. For more information on the group's research, please contact Prof. Helle Porsdam.

*This event has been rescheduled from April 2020 - we are pleased to proceed via Zoom*

This transdisciplinary symposium (event page here), organised by gloknos in collaboration with our Advisory Board Member and UNESCO Chair in Cultural Rights Prof Helle Porsdam, will explore the RtS against the background of the 2017 UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Research.

The symposium is open to the public but spaces are limited, so please contact Samantha Peel to book your place.

Participants:

Roberto Andorno (Zurich); Valerie Bradley (Boston); Edward Cronan (Hogarth Chambers, London); Yvonne Donders (Amsterdam); Inanna Hamati-Ataya (Cambridge); Andrew Mazabrada (Copenhagen); Matthias Mann (Munich & Copenhagen); John Naughton (Cambridge); Valerie Bradley (Boston); Stjepan Oreskovic (Zagreb); Aurora Plomer (Bristol) Helle Porsdam (Copenhagen); Sebastian Porsdam Mann (Oxford).

F1.large.jpg

Image: The United Nations' Right to Science, by Otávio Roth.