North Africa and Middle East Science centers network (NAMES)
Introduction to NAMES:
The goal of NAMES is the democratization of science throughout the region by enhancing the public understanding of and involvement in science by means of informal education.
Networking for a better future
There is a worldwide consensus that a sustainable culture of innovation will depend on more young people being interested in the future of science and technology. This interest must be nurtured and developed at a very early age through formal education in schools as well as informal education exemplified in science centers, children’s museums and science parks.
Science Centers and Museums are facilities dedicated to furthering the public awareness and understanding of science among increasingly diverse audiences; they encourage creativity and spark interest in the world around us.
For a science center to really achieve its goal of the democratization of science, it is obliged to follow the dynamic and ever-changing pace of science and technology. The most effective way to do so is through opening up to the fast developing world and cooperating with similar establishments regionally and internationally. It is for this reason that science centers networks were established all around the world. Some of the networks are: ASTC, ECSITE, Red-POP, ASPAC, SAASTEC, NCSM, and China.
NAMES was created to provide professional development for the science center field in North Africa and the Middle East region. NAMES aims to promote best practices, to support effective communication and to strengthen the position of science centers within the community at large. NAMES aspires to encourage excellence and innovation in informal science learning by serving and linking its members in the Middle East and North Africa and advancing their common goals.
The goals of NAMES are to be achieved through excellence and innovation in informal education and by offering hands-on activities where the public can indulge in participatory learning.
2nd General Assembly Meeting Theme
“Science for Improved Knowledge and Prosperity” OR “Science for Knowledge and Prosperity”
Adapted from the Akron Beacon Journal, October 28, 2003
Economic growth in this day in time is driven by the skills and innovative capacity of people; it requires progressive innovations that will improve the competitiveness of existing business and lead to the creation of new industries. Economists agree that the creation of new technological knowledge through research is our most direct economic avenue for acquiring added value. When that new knowledge is applied in market environments, it creates jobs, capital formation, profits and surpluses for reinvestment. In other words, it is from research that new companies are born and new jobs are created; it is from research that new wealth is created and the economy expands.
Success in the new Knowledge Economy will belong to those regions that create and nurture the human resources of intellectual capital — the people who create new knowledge and new technologies and quickly translate research discoveries into marketable products and services.
2nd General Assembly Meeting Sub-Themes
A. New Technologies:
A-1) Nanotechnology
Adapted from Center for Responsible Nanotechnology website:( www.crnano.org ) and Scientific American: (www.scientificamerican.com)
“The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big.” Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner in physics. Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This covers both current work and concepts that are more advanced. In its original sense, 'nanotechnology' refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up, using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, high performance products: faster computer processors, more powerful wireless radios, cancer-fighting medical instruments, superstrong polymers and metals, and even miniature works of art.
Nanotechnology is not without controversy, however, as Billy Joy, Sun Microsystem's co-founder, once famously warned us of the, now largely debunked, threat of "gray goo," or self-replicating nanobots that some feared would disassemble everything on Earth. Researchers now worry about the more prosaic environmental by-products of nanotech, such as the potential health effects of nanoscale particles—carbon nanotubes, for instance, which can behave like asbestos fibers when inhaled.
A-2) Information and Communication Technology
Adapted from the UNESCO Information and Communication Technology in Education book
Information and communication technology, or ICT, is defined as the combination of informatics technology with other, related technologies, specifically communication technology. ICT has become, within a very short time, one of the basic building blocks of modern society. Many countries now regard understanding ICT and mastering the basic skills and concepts of ICT as part of the core of education, alongside reading, writing and numeracy.
ICT permeates the business environment, it underpins the success of modern corporations, and it provides governments with an efficient infrastructure. At the same time, ICT adds value to the processes of learning, and in the organization and management of learning institutions. The Internet is a driving force for much development and innovation in both developed and developing countries. Countries must be able to benefit from technological developments. To be able to do so, a cadre of professionals has to be educated with sound ICT backgrounds, independent of specific computer platforms or software environments.
B. Sustainable Development:
Adapted from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, website ( www.oecd.org ) and Wikipedia
Sustainable development implies a broad view of human welfare, a long term perspective about the consequences of today's activities, and the full involvement of civil society to reach viable solutions. Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for future generations. Sustainable development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social challenges facing humanity.
The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical sustainability. Science and technology (S&T) can play an important role in making the economic, environmental and social dimensions of the development process more sustainable. Not only is S&T a key driver of economic growth, but it may also help provide answers for managing resources and reducing pollution, addressing climate change and preserving biodiversity, as well as reducing disease and safeguarding health and well-being, while maintaining the general quality of life.
B-1) Environment
Adapted from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, website ( www.oecd.org ) and the Union of Concerned Scientists, UCS, website ( www.ucsusa.org )
Recent phenomenal growth in energy and transport use has led to more pollution, resource depletion, congestion, and an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, which all contribute to climate change. Global climate change is one of the key concerns of the 21st century, with serious implications for economies, societies and the environment. A central challenge is the integration of climate policy objectives into other sectoral policy areas. To protect the health and economic well-being of current and future generations, we must reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gases by using the technology, know-how, and practical solutions already at our disposal.
B-2) Renewable and Clean Energy
Adapted from the Union of Concerned Scientists, UCS, website ( www.ucsusa.org )
No single solution can meet our society's future energy needs. The answer lies instead in a family of diverse energy technologies that share a common thread: they do not deplete our natural resources or destroy our environment. Renewable energy technologies tap into natural cycles and systems, turning the ever-present energy around us into usable forms. The movement of wind and water, the heat and light of the Sun, heat in the ground, the carbohydrates in plants; all are natural energy sources that can supply our needs in a sustainable way. Because they are homegrown, renewables can also increase our energy security and create local jobs.
C. Life Sciences:
C-1) Biotechnology
Adapted from the Biology Online website ( www.biology-online.org ) and Wikipedia
Biotechnology means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. Biotechnology is having an increasingly important impact on a number of sectors and disciplines; it has applications in four major industrial areas: health care, crop production and agriculture, as well as non-nutritional uses of crop; such as biodegradable plastics; vegetable oil; biofuels, and environmental uses.
C-2) Agriculture, Food and Nutrition
Adapted from the USAID website ( www.usaid.gov ) and Wikipedia
“Agriculture represents the single most profound ecological change in the entire 3.5 billion-year history of life.” Niles Eldredge, Curator, Department of Invertebrates, American Museum of Natural History. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The processes and methods of agriculture have been refined by other mechanical and biological sciences since its inception. Throughout the use of agriculture, farmers have inadvertently altered the genetics of their crops through introducing them to new environments and breeding them with other plants—one of the first forms of biotechnology.
In many developing countries economic growth and increased income-earning opportunities, especially for the rural poor, depend on the performance of the agriculture sector. Over the last 20 years, improved crop varieties have accounted for an estimated half of agricultural productivity improvements. As we face global population growth, increased competition for land and water resources from industrial and urban growth, climate change, and the need to protect the environment, we need new solutions to increasing agricultural productivity to combat hunger and poverty.
Agricultural biotechnology offers an important tool, which along with traditional breeding, new technologies, and improved resource management, enhances crop, livestock, and aquaculture productivity. “Responsible biotechnology is not the enemy; starvation is. Without adequate food supplies at affordable prices, we cannot expect world health or peace.” Jimmy Carter, Former President of the United States.
C-3) Health
Adapted from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, website (www.oecd.org) and Wikipedia
The links between innovation, productivity, health and wealth are recognized by many countries and the need to encourage innovation is also apparent. Investing in and encouraging innovation is a priority for many jurisdictions as is the affordability, quality and sustainability of healthcare systems. Health-care technology has the tremendous potential to change our understanding of disease, transform the delivery of health-care services, and improve health outcomes. Health-care technologies have transformed the practice of medicine over the course of the last century, contributing to the extension of human life and to the reduction of pain, disease risk, and disability.
Technological innovations can bring substantial benefits in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, as well as access to care. However, there is widespread variation in the uptake and diffusion of health-care technology, indicating that there are opportunities for more effective integration of such technologies into the health system. In medicine, modern biotechnology finds promising applications in such areas as drug production; pharmacogenomics, the study of how the genetic inheritance of an individual affects his/her body’s response to drugs; gene therapy, which may be used for treating, even curing, genetic and acquired diseases like cancer and AIDS by using normal genes to supplement or replace defective genes or to bolster a normal function such as immunity; and genetic testing, which involves the direct examination of the DNA molecule itself for mutated sequences.