The international declaration on cooperation was signed today as part of the World Science Ministers' Conference initiated by the Ministry of Science and Technology
Today, Tuesday 15.9.20, a world conference of science ministers was held led by Minister of Science and Technology and member of the Corona Cabinet, Mr. Yizhar Shai. The first conference of its kind in Israel, which took place in an online format, was attended by 18 science ministers from countries around the world including countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany and Sweden.
The conference was opened by the Minister of Science and Technology and member of the Corona Cabinet, Mr. Yizhar Shai, with a call for the participants of the conference to participate in an international database established by the Ministry of Science and Technology to share scientific and innovative research between the countries and to be a global knowledge center for Corona research. In the international database, all countries will be able to share the research that is currently being carried out in their country in the field of the Corona virus, share information between researchers around the world, create an international scientific knowledge community and open joint research channels. In addition, the database presents all the options available to researchers for submitting research grants both in Israel and internationally.
Minister of Science and Technology and member of the Corona Cabinet, Yizhar Shai: "My dear friends, ministers of science and innovation around the world, gathered here today to promote international cooperation in the fight against the corona virus. The corona virus is a common enemy that threatens the health of billions of people and the daily routine of all of us, but with a joint international effort we can beat the epidemic. The Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology is proud to launch today an international database that will facilitate scientific cooperation in the field. I have no doubt that many countries around the world will follow the path of the 18 countries that have already joined the Israeli initiative.'
At the end of the minister's remarks, the conference participants signed a joint declaration of sharing the information of their research in the field of the corona virus.
Pedro Duque, Minister of Science and Innovation of Spain: "Sharing our experience is a great idea. The virus crisis has put us all to the test. Everyone had to react quickly and this was a test of our national preparedness, we discovered that in this type of situation, there is no global ability to reach an immediate solution and we have to be content with our experience and knowledge from the past."
Paola pisano, the minister of technological innovation and digitization in Italy: "The Italian government launched a program for research in the field of the corona virus and subsidized those studies, alongside an app for monitoring patients. In addition, the government invested 1.6 billion euros in order to enable the education system to connect to high-speed internet and enable distance learning."
Radovan Fuchs, Minister of Science and Education of Croatia: "The global initiative of the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology will help us all promote the common interest in the fight against the virus. Two weeks ago, I also spoke with the Minister of Education of Israel and shared our view that the children do not catch the virus and that the classes that go into isolation are mainly because of the teaching staff."
Matilda Ernkrans, Minister of Higher Education and Research, representative of Sweden: "We plan to pass a law this fall and increase the research budget, so that we arrive better prepared for the next health crisis."
Link toThe International Corona Database:
The list of countries that took part in the conference (in order of ABC): Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Peru, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
