By the Mail Editorial Board AS the world was noticeably busy following up news of deadly hurricanes and super typhoons that wreaked havoc and left many people dead, injured or displaced, a profoundly significant international conference convened in Beijing to map out a shared vision for a shared and better future of humanity through the popularisation of science and the promotion of science literacy. The conference was unique, and its objectives were lofty indeed. The august assembly of more than one thousand people of science learning and related areas of interest from countries the world over was the first ever international conference to be wholly devoted to the popularisation of science and scientific knowledge on a global scale. With "Promoting Public Science Literacy: Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind" as its theme, the conference that kicked off in Beijing last Monday evolved after three days of insightful debates into a platform for building international consensus on the indispensability of science literacy in the overall drive to achieve sustainable development. And that was quite an achievement given that it was the world's first ever such thematic assembly. Reports on conference debates and discussions give clues to one of the conference's brightest and most inspiring characteristics: The apparent emphasis on the value of innovativeness for human societies. Science and technology are the primary productive force, and innovation is a crucial driving force behind development, Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country hosted the event, noted in a congratulatory message to the opening session. Though the role of science, technology and innovation in the realisation of comprehensive and sustainable development has for long been acknowledged, it was necessary to cast highlight on the actual structural and functional composition of the science-development linkage in a professional manner. And it is in this context that the popularisation of science literacy acquires its special and primal value. Doubtlessly, even a random look at the physical components of life as they exist today would prove it that science and technology are as vital to the sustenance of life as air and water. Imagine how decimated life would be without the products of modern science and technology. From robotic assembly lines at giant industrial complexes to home appliances that all family members can use, from the aircraft and vehicles that enable humans and goods to move from one place to another at previously unimaginable speeds to food processing plants and from the hand-held multi-purpose cellular devices to the striking world of contemporary medicine, to cite only a few such components, the central fact is that had it not been for the constant advancement of science it would have been virtually impossible to see modernity as we now see it all around us. By the same token, the more science literacy spreads the more will it be possible for human societies to benefit from the advances of science, make modernity a continuous process. Of equal importance is the recognition of the role of innovativeness in widening the prospects of humans and human societies identifying new modalities for improving the quality of life on our planet. Again, imagine how life would have looked like today had the world not known or recognised the innovative contributions of Galileo Galilei, Thomas Edison, Alexander Bell, Marie Curie, Faraday, Benjamin Franklin, the Wrights brothers, Stanford Fleming and Tim Berners Lee, to mention only a few of the fantastic men and women whose innovative ideas have influenced the face of life. The more popular science and innovation get, the more innovators our world will come to see. And this is certainly one of the advantages of promoting science literacy.
