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Science and politics
"THE NEED FOR CONVERGENCE: SCIENCE AND DIPLOMACY IN THE
MODERN AGE"
SPEECH BY RT HON DAVID MILIBAND MP FOREIGN SECRETARY
THE ROYAL SOCIETY, LONDON 12 JANUARY 2010
Thank you all, and thank you Martin for your introduction and for inviting me here today. I have been introduced to speak by many people in my time as foreign secretary, dignitaries, diplomats and academics; but I think few have offered so much new thought to the well of human knowledge, and few have reflected so well on the reputation of this country as a place of innovation and learning. ((And, I have to admit, few have been astrophysicists.))
First, let me wish you all a very warm welcome to London. It is a great honour for us that so many scientists have come so far to celebrate the 350th Anniversary of the Royal Society. It's also a great honour for the UK and the Royal Society to be hosting the General Assembly of the Inter-Academy Panel. I believe this year you will be discussing biodiversity - prescient given the recent events at Copenhagen and the global debate on climate change.
This IAP General Assembly has also seen the launch of the Royal Society's report on science and diplomacy. This is a theme that I will return to. But the report itself is emblematic of how the Royal Society embodies some of Britain's greatest qualities: its commitment to the advance of knowledge; its international engagement; the meritocratic basis of its membership; its involvement in the public realm.
Although an independent institution, the Royal Society's history is also closely interwoven with that of the British Government. Since its foundation, the Royal Society has advised successive Governments, first by demonstrating the value of experimental science, and now also by providing the best current scientific thought to leaders and policy makers everywhere. [DN - SUGGESTED CUT: Indeed, it is not only in science where the Royal Society has offered leadership; they appointed their first Foreign Secretary - to manage relations with science academies around the world - some sixty years before the creation of the post I hold.]
There is little doubt that the UK is a country that takes science seriously. With just 1% of the world's population we author 8% of the world's scientific papers. From the discovery of the double helix to the invention of the World Wide Web, British science has been at the forefront of breakthroughs that affect the lives of everyone.
We also take diplomacy seriously. With 261 diplomatic missions in more than 160 countries, our foreign service gives us insight and influence the world over. From our permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, to our role in the Commonwealth or our membership of the EU, we are at the heart of a unique web of international networks and organisations. We are no longer a global Empire, but I believe we are ncreasingly a global hub. Because our influence today stems from our openness, our joint ventures, networks and alliances. Your presence here tonight bears witness to that.
In the 350 years since the Royal Society was founded, it has grown from a group of 12 natural philosophers meeting weekly at Gresham College to discuss and conduct experiments, to the world renowned, cutting-edge institution that it is today.
The Royal Society has, since its foundation, been internationalist. A German - Henry Oldenburg - became editor of the society's first journal in 1665. And it received papers from many of the world's best minds - the Italian Marcello Malpighi and the Dutchman Christiaan Huygens to name but two.
The Society has long enjoyed strong ties to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Indeed seventeen of my illustrious predecessors were fellows of the Royal Society. One of them Lord Salisbury - who, between 1878 and 1902, clocked up four stints as Foreign Secretary and three as Prime Minister - was such an enthusiastic amateur scientist that he built a laboratory at his house in Hatfield and spent his spare time conducting chemistry experiments.
© National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 2011
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