Today, on 8 July, the opening ceremony of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD 2022) was held in the UNESCO headquarters (Paris, France). The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research is one of the organizers of IYBSSD 2022 and a member of its Steering Committee. The international intergovernmental organization JINR is the only scientific organization in the territory of the Russian Federation that has become a co-organizer of the Year IYBSSD 2022.

“This initiative is a good opportunity for the international scientific community to show the importance of science in solidarity, declare fundamental research as a key condition for the sustainable development of mankind. It is important that this Year should become a unifying one, because science is international, despite the fact that today this thesis is going through sore trials. I hope that the programme of the Year will strengthen the understanding of the principles of depoliticisation, openness, and continued importance of fundamental knowledge.

It is a great honour for JINR to be among the co-organizers of the Year. It is also a responsibility to the international community, the country of JINR location, Russia, and all the Member States of the Institute. It is for sure a good opportunity for the multinational voice of our international centre to be heard all over the world. JINR pays special attention to the contribution of our research infrastructure to the search for the answers to global challenges facing the Member States in the interests of the sustainable development of all mankind.

Our active participation in the programme of the Year will serve to implement the JINR Sofia Declaration, which has set a course to strengthen the role of JINR as a unique integration platform for the development of modern tools of the Member States and partners in the fields of science diplomacy, scientific enlightenment, and cross-cultural exchange,” JINR Director RAS Academician Grigory Trubnikov highlighted, commenting on IYBSSD 2022.

The ceremony in Paris was opened by UNESCO Deputy Director-General Xing Qu, who noted that science could change our world, making it more sustainable. “Let us not simply view sciences as utilitarian, or technical tools. Because basic sciences are also the expression of deeply human need: curiosity, wonder, the world around us. If tomorrow’s world is more sustainable, then it would be thanks to the discoveries made by curious spirit,” he said. In his speech, Xing Qu paid special attention to such issues as the promotion of women in science and climate change, stressing that UNESCO strives to make the scientific field more open, equal, and fruitful.

Photos: IYBSSD 2022

At the ceremony, Michel Spiro gave a speech who is President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), President of the Steering Committee for the proclamation of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, and Honorary Doctor of JINR. In his speech, he presented the idea that fundamental sciences, driven by the thirst for knowledge, are the basis for education and the source of discoveries. Eventually, they find practical applications that serve the inclusive sustainable development of the world.

The Institute’s activities in the modern global research agenda are the acquisition of new knowledge of a fundamental nature and the development of technologies and innovations for the sake of the sustainable development of humankind. This principle is reflected in the JINR Long-Term Development Strategy up to 2030 and beyond.

The Joint Institute holds a number of events included in the official list of events of the Year IYBSSD 2022:

• 28 March — 1 April 2022
  16th international scientific conference “Parallel Computational Technologies (PCT) 2022″
• 12 — 16 December 2022
  International workshop on Exploring High Baryon Density Matter at the JINR NICA Facility
• 18 – 23 September 2023
  XXV International Baldin Seminar on High Energy Physics Problems “Relativistic Nuclear Physics and Quantum Chromodynamics” (Baldin ISHEPP XXV)
• 2023
  X International Symposium on Exotic Nuclei (EXON-2022)

Besides, JINR plans to hold a number of events in addition to the main programme of the Year of Basic Sciences. The first of them will be the opening of a travelling interactive exposition of JINR on 29 July in the frames of the celebration of the Day of the city of Dubna, the city of the Joint Institute’s location.

Together with JINR, the organizers of IYBSSD 2022 are its partners, such leading international scientific centres and communities as CERN, the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN, Italy), and others.

2022 was proclaimed the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development – IYBSSD 2022 at the 41st UNESCO General Conference. The proposal for the Year was developed by IUPAP, under the leadership of Michel Spiro, IUPAP President, Honorary Doctor of JINR, member of the JINR Scientific Council with the encouragement and support of the ISC and its many members, partner institutions, and UNESCO.

The objective of the Year is to highlight the crucial role of basic sciences for sustainable development and emphasise their contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN for all countries of the world for the period of 2016-2030. The IYBSSD 2022 might increase awareness of the critical function of basic sciences needs to be built amongst relevant stakeholders including policy-makers, business and industry, international organizations, philanthropic foundations, universities, teachers and students, media, and the broader public.