UNESCO International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP)

Minella C. AlarconSenior Programme Specialist

Division of Basic and Engineering Sciences

UNESCO platform to fulfill its mandate in the basic sciences and science education.

Within the United Nations system, UNESCO has a unique mandate for the basic sciences and the promotion of cooperation in this field.

Objectives of IBSP• Building national capacities for basic research, training,

science education and popularisation of science through international and regional cooperation in development-oriented areas of national priority;

• Transfer and sharing of scientific information and excellence in science through North-South and South-South cooperation; and

• Provision of scientific expertise for, and advice to, policy- and decision-makers, and increasing public awareness of ethical issues that progress in science entails.

Emphasis on capacity-building in science, science education, advancement of

scientific knowledge, and the use of this knowledge to meet societal needs.

• Physics, • Mathematics, • Chemistry,• Biological sciences,• Science education

IBSP Scientific Board• Advises on and monitors programme activities• Members (20):

– Professor Herwig Schopper, former Director-General of CERN, Chairperson

– Academician Vladimir Fortov, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), Vice-Chairperson

– Professor Mohamed H.A. Hassan, Executive Director, TWAS– H.E. Ambassador, Dr Addulsalam El-Qalali– Professor Jens J. Gaardhoje– Professor Annick Suzor-Weiner– Professor Laszlo Baksay

Collaborating Partners• The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World

(TWAS), Trieste, Italy• European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN),

Geneva, Switzerland• Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics

(ICTP), Trieste, Italy• International Centre for Pure and Applied Mathematics

(CIMPA), Nice, France• International Centre for Synchrotron-light for Experimental

Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME), Jordan

• International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP)• International Commission on Mathematical Instruction

(ICMI)

IBSP Strategy of Action• Focused on the development and execution of major priority

actions:– Institutional capacity-building– Human resources development in research and advanced training– Promotion of science education– Leverage and transfer of scientific knowledge– International science expertise and advocacy for science

• In cooperation with reliable partners on a cost-sharing basis, with additional support from extrabudgetary funding

• UNESCO priorities on Africa, science education, science capacity-building, science policy and advocacy of science, and gender.

IBSP projects in physics & maths• CERN/IBSP Partnership in Training of Science Education Trainers

from developing countries• Active Learning in Optics and Photonics (ALOP): cooperation

between ICTP, IBSP and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE)

• CIMPA-UNESCO Summer Schools and Workshops in Mathematics• UNESCO Cooperation with IUPAP and its International Commission

of Physics Education (ICPE)• IBSP Cluster of UNESCO Chairs: Chair for Mathematical and

Theoretical Physics at Birzeit University (Palestinian Territory), Chair for Active Learning and Hands-On Physics Education at Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco

• Support to UNESCO networks through the UNESCO Field Offices: Asian Physics Education Network (ASPEN)

Thank you for your attention!