IUPAC is a founding partner of the 2022 International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. The Year is a unique opportunity for promoting the importance of basic sciences, emphasizing the crucial role of chemistry and chemistry’s interdisciplinary nature at the cutting edge of fundamental research through to education and outreach. IYBSSD2022 is developed on the basis of themes identified as priorities by UNESCO and the United Nations. The following activities and projects exemplify IUPAC engagement to celebrate IYBSSD2022 and showcase the links between basic sciences and the 17 SDGs.
IYBSSD themes | IUPAC engagement
- Strengthening the presence and the visibility of women > GWB
- Basic sciences as sources of international dialogue and peace > Hands-on
- Science as a global public good > Systems Thinking
- Innovation and economic development > Top10
- Education and human development > PT Challenge
- Meeting global challenges > Global Conversation
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GWB 2023 – Breaking Barriers in Science [detail] On 14 February 2023, the Global Woman Breakfast will be “Breaking Barriers in Science”. The annual event organized in support of the International Day for Women and Girls in Science is a global networking initiative in support of closing the Gender Gap in Science. Event organizers and attendees will expand their professional network and develop leadership skills. Women and men from all types of science organizations and all science disciplines are invited to participate. Bringing more women leaders into the scientific community helps towards achieving multiple SDGs, including GOAL 5 GENDER EQUALITY. |
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Hands-on – Capacity building of chemistry instructors teaching with hands-on small scale experiments in high schools in Asia [detail] This project shares practices with secondary school teachers in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Nepal, introducing small scale chemistry substituting less hazardous chemicals in experiments wherever possible. This project is helping students acquire scientific thinking skills and an appreciation for science in real life. GOAL 4 QUALITY EDUCATION |
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Systems Thinking – Linking sustainability goals to chemistry education through the Planetary Boundaries framework [detail] Sustainability is a concept that requires convergences of many disciplines, including the basic sciences. Sustainability challenges such as those described in the UN SDGs require multiple science disciplines to be addressed, and current, compartmentalized educational curricula are silent on how to help students participate in using basic science within these complex contexts. The Planetary Boundaries framework, which measures Earth’s stability and resilience amid rapid global change, provides a unique meeting-point for these disciplinary convergences, with systems thinking providing the thread that ties them together into a holistic view of planetary sustainability. GOAL 4 QUALITY EDUCATION | GOAL 12 RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION |
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Top10 – Showcasing Emerging Technologies in Chemistry [detail] The goal of the Top Ten Emerging Technologies in Chemistry project is to showcase the value of Chemistry and to inform the general public as to how the chemical sciences contribute to the well-being of society and the sustainability of Planet Earth. Since 2019, emerging technologies have been selected on the basis of those in between a new scientific discovery and a fully-commercialized technology, and those with the greatest capacity to open new opportunities in chemistry and beyond. GOAL 9 INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE | GOAL 12 RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION |
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PT Challenge – Periodic Table Challenge [detail] Ever wonder why the symbol for plutonium is Pu and not Pl? Do you know which car logo used to be an element symbol? Do you know where you can find americium at home and why Mendeleev didn’t like tellurium? Play the game first conceived in 2019 to celebrate the centenary of IUPAC as well as the International Year of the Periodic Table. The game serves as an entry point for many students and educators worldwide to learn about IUPAC and what we do. Play in English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Italian, or French. |
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Global Conversation [detail] The Global Conversation on Sustainability (GCS) project tackles the UN SDGs by raising awareness and implementing sustainable practices on a chemistry basis. A one-day worldwide virtual event focusing on sustainability towards a common good will be coordinated. The project will provide guidelines about the event framework through instructional videos and manuals for easy information access and to promote the engagement of the chemistry community globally. |
IYBSSD2022 invites YOU to participate and celebrate basic sciences for sustainable development. The Opening Ceremony will take place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Friday 8 July 2022.
See MORE www.iybssd2022.org
— see also
Echoes from the opening are reported in the Oct 2022 issue of Chemistry International, p. 39
6 December 2021 – The IYBSSD proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly for 2022
The CLOSING CEREMONY is to take place 15 Dec 2023 in the CERN – see details