ESOF2004: Swedish minister opens Europe’s answer to AAAS

Call for European scientists to cooperate more, and to communicate better
Scientists from across the world are gathering in Stockholm for ESOF2004, the largest multidisciplinary gathering of researchers ever held in Europe. 400 scientists are to present 100 scientific sessions over four days. 300 journalists are attending the conference, which is intended to highlight the need for greater and better focused funding for scientific research.

Thomas Östros, Swedish minister for education and science, said in his opening speech to the conference: “Europe needs to invest more, and strengthen cooperation in order to make European research more competitive.”

Östros talked of the need to found a European research council to direct funding of science at a continent-wide level. “We should look to the AAAS and the American way of using federal support for scientific research,”
he said.

Carl Johan Sundberg, chairman of the ESOF2004 steering committee, told
the conference that Europe needs to change its mindset. “The focus should be on scientific quality. There has been a tendency for scientific goals to become politicized, and this conference seeks to challenge that tendency.”

Sundberg argued that the purpose of the conference was to encourage communication – both between scientists of different disciplines, and between scientists in general and society at large. “The word ‘open’ in the forum’s title is very important,” he said, “we need to be open to the public.” He also argued that scientists need to listen more to the
public. “We need two ears and one mouth,” he said.

This point was backed up by Rainer Gerold, Director of ‘Science and Society’, DG Research, European Commission. “We need a better relationship between science and the people,” said Gerold.

About ESOF2004
ESOF2004 is the first pan-European interdisciplinary scientific meeting. It provides an opportunity to discuss the latest research from leading international scientists. The subjects to be discussed at the forum include science policy issues in Europe, humanity and space, the human brain, communication of science, science and ethics, and more.

The programme includes about 100 scientific sessions, presented by nearly 300 speakers from 80 countries. The total number of delegates is around 1,500. There are 300 journalists from around the world attending the conference. ESOF 2004 is arranged by Euroscience, and counts among its partners the European Commission, Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Karolinska Institute.

The next EuroScience Open Forum takes place in Munich in 2006.

For further information
ESOF 2004 website:
esof2004.org

Press Contacts

Madelene Kornfehl


James Savage

Stockholm, 25th August 2004, 17.00 CET