SCIENCE AGORA

Outline
Science Agora 2016

Date

Provisional schedule of Science Agora 2016
3rd (Thu), 4th (Fri) ,5th (Sat) ,6th (Sun) November

Message from the Organizer

Starting from the first meeting held in 2006, Science Agora marked its 10th meeting in 2015. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to everyone who has supported Science Agora.

Five years have already passed since the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake in 2011. In disaster-stricken areas, many people have been making efforts day after day toward reconstruction and the creation of a new society. The disaster taught us that there are many issues triggered by natural threats that cannot be solved solely by the capacities of science and technology. While holding Science Agora in this year marking the turning point, we wish to provide an opportunity to sincerely face that reality and communicate with each other in consideration of the following issues: what we overcame through the disaster; what we were unable to solve; and, what the remaining challenges are.

Science Agora invokes the vision, “Let’s build a society harmonized with science.” This vision expresses our expectation, “We hope to reform science for the sake of society with various people’s contributions and build a future society by satisfying society’s expectations through dialogue.” Various people play leading roles in reforming science and satisfying society’s expectations.

“Creating innovation for tomorrow’s world,” which is the goal of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, was developed based on a desire to realize a future society with the hope of converting scientific knowledge into social values. The cooperation of various individuals is essential for accomplishing that goal. Science Agora is a platform for people to think of science and society through dialogue and to create mutual understanding, trust, and cooperation. Aiming at creating innovation towards a future society, we wish to foster Science Agora together with those individuals more than ever before.

Let us cooperate with each other so that Science Agora will become a forum in which various people playing an active part both at home and abroad gather to think about the future of society and science, and discuss and work towards building the future society we envision.

Michinari Hamaguchi
President, Japan Science and Technology Agency

Venues

Venue:Odaiba area, Tokyo

Details of venues and access

map_01

Fee

To Be Determined

Organizers, Co-organizers, and supporters

To Be Determined

Vison, Issues shared and Themes of Science Agora 2016

Science strongly affects modern industries and people’s lives and it has become one of the important elements building society increasingly as well as politics, business or arts. Raising the vision of Science Agora, “Let’s build a society harmonized with science”, we put our cordial wish to build a future society with an appropriate use of science as one of a variety of building blocks of society.

Toward the accomplishment of Science Agora’s vision, there are issues that we think all people must share and work on in the immediate future (with a view to about 5 years). They are (1) Transformation of society led by science, (2) Transformation of science led by society (3) Harmonization with risk. It is about the perceptions of the times that: First, advanced science is about to significantly change society. Second, society is about to significantly change the form of science. And third, culture and climate that can harmonize the risks and benefits in either context will become increasingly important.

In 2016, under the perceptions of the times above, we focus 3 themes. They are (1) New medical care, food, and life that will be created by advanced science, (2) Collaboration between education, culture, art and sports, and science, and (3) The future role of science learned from the 5 years of the 3.11 disaster reconstruction. We will muster the new approaches involved in science for medical care, food, and life that form the basis of our lives, new approaches that are born in new frontiers observed in collaborations between education, culture and art, and sports and science and the efforts made with a focus on Tohoku, and think about the future of our society.

(Note) Here, we use the term “science” as a generic term of intellectually inquiring activities and their outcomes including science based technology and technology oriented science. It is the same meaning as the term “science and technology” generally used.

topic
Figure 1: Vison, Issues shared and Themes of Science Agora 2016

■Vision

This is the target philosophy that Science Agora aspires for the next 10 years (2015-2025) or so. It is confirmed that Science Agora is for every one of those who seeks to voluntarily become involved in cooperating in the creation of a society that is in harmony with science.

Let’s build society harmonized with science

Science strongly affects modern industries and people’s lives and it has become one of the important elements building society increasingly as well as politics, business or arts. Raising the vision of Science Agora, “Let’s build a society harmonized with science”, we put our cordial wish to build a future society with an appropriate use of science as one of a variety of building blocks of society.

■Issues shared toward 2020

Toward the accomplishment of Science Agora’s vision, there are issues that we think all people must share and work on in the immediate future (with a view to about 5 years). They are (1) Transformation of society led by science, (2) Transformation of science led by society (3) Harmonization with risk. It is about the perceptions of the times that: First, advanced science is about to significantly change society. Second, society is about to significantly change the form of science. And third, culture and climate that can harmonize the risks and benefits in either context will become increasingly important.

1. Transformation of society led by science

Development in technologies, such as ICT and biotechnology, is about to significantly change the social systems and culture on a global basis. Sometimes violently and sometimes quietly, the destruction of old customs and the creation of new culture have been progressing. We should not let them alone and blindly accept them. The need for us to ask ourselves, discuss, and create cooperation on the kind of world we want to live in has increased more than ever. Let’s sow the seeds and grow constructive activities that will promote responsible participation in the future society.

2. Transformation of science led by society

Diverse spreading of the frontiers of science has infinite possibilities. The size of the impact that the increase in the highly uncertain social problems connected to the information network that penetrated into every corner of society on a global basis has on the activities of science is immeasurable. The key words are “Open and Flat.” By opening the scientific activities closed in the conventional specific communities and gaining commitments from a diverse range of people, the power to create new values will increasingly grow. Let’s sow the seeds and grow the defiant activities that go beyond the boundaries of areas and communities.

3. Harmonization with risk

Risks will become the driving force to open the way to a new society. When advanced science has a significant influence on the future society, there will be, of course, risks and benefits. When a society changes the scene of advanced science, there will also be risks and benefits. In order for the stakeholders involved in science to cooperate in the respective positions and contexts, how should risks and benefits be harmonized? Scientific thoughts and rich sensibility will be required. Let’s sow the seeds and grow defiant and clever activities.

■Themes in 2016

In 2016, under the perceptions of the times above, we focus 3 themes. They are (1) New medical care, food, and life that will be created by advanced science, (2) Collaboration between education, culture, art and sports, and science, and (3) The future role of science learned from the 5 years of the 3.11 disaster reconstruction. We will muster the new approaches involved in science for medical care, food, and life that form the basis of our lives, new approaches that are born in new frontiers observed in collaborations between education, culture and art, and sports and science and the efforts made with a focus on Tohoku, and think about the future of our society.

1. New medical care, food, and life that will be created by advanced science

How will the improvements in the advanced ICT infrastructure and the Social Security and Tax Number System change our medical care and life? In 2016, besides the development of the ICT base, we will strongly feel the connections of various regions around the country, as well as the global connections in everyday life. Development of the ICT can become the driving force to promote such environmental changes both in a positive and negative way. This year, let’s muster the new approaches involved in science for medical care, food, and life that form the basis of our lives and think about the future of our society.

2. Collaboration between education, culture, art and sports, and science

Toward the Olympic and Paralympic year of 2020, societal expectations for science is increasing higher. Meeting the expectations, how can the future science be transformed through collaborations with education, culture and art, and sports? Let’s muster new approaches that are born in new frontiers observed in the collaborations among stakeholders involved in science and think about the future of our society.

3. The future role of science learned from the 5 years of the 3.11 disaster reconstruction

The earthquake disaster reconstruction has not ended yet. What kind of cooperation and outcomes has the advanced science created with other sectors during the five years of efforts? How can they create the future society? Let’s muster the efforts with a focus on Tohoku and think about the future of our society.

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