World Association of Young Scientists

 Video from BusinessWeek:

It seems a bit optimistic to me to claim that "within a few years, the US economy will be capable of generating the high-value jobs required for economic recovery" simply by increasing public-private partnerships. This sounds like the kind of paradigm shift that the entrenched U.S. economy will find very difficult to accept.

The European Council meeting on how Europe should respond to the current economic downturn was held on 19 and 20 March:
"Getting
the economy back on track is one of the biggest challenges Europe is
facing. EU leaders meeting in Brussels on 19 and 20 March affirmed that
the implementation of the December recovery plan is progressing well.
The fiscal stimulus of over €400 billion will generate new investments,
boost demand and create jobs.

The
heads of state and government decided to double to €50 billion the
amount of financial assistance to non-euro member states facing
balance-of-payments problems. They also reached an agreement on the
€5 billion Community part of the recovery plan, boosting specific
infrastructure projects. These include broadband internet and energy
connections, such as support for the Nabucco gas pipeline" etc.

 Here you can read the press release and The Presidency conclusions.

 One could have expected that the major economical crisis could provide opportunities to green the economy.

In fact, despite an encouraging credo:

"The
magnitude and the underlying causes of the ongoing global financial and
economic crisis demonstrate the need to reshape macroeconomic global
management and the regulatory framework for financial markets."

It seems that most if not all measures are targeted to get back on the
same very track as fast as possible.

What annoys me is that the
root "develop" (development, developing etc.) occurs 43 times in 30 pages  --which is fine--  while the word environment is virtually absent from the report (apart from bodies in the reference section) --which is not. There is not a single occurence of "green" either.

Play it again Sam. Yes in Europe too.

'Higher, more effective and efficient investments in education, research and innovation are a key factor for the sustainable long-term growth of a competitive European economy and should remain a high priority, also in the context of the current global economic downturn,' reads one of the recommendations adopted by EU research ministers at the Competitiveness Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium on 5 and 6 March. 

In the recommendation, the ministers also highlight the importance of reaching the goal of investing 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in research and development (R&D), and call on Member States to encourage the private sector to invest more in research. 

'In the present situation, the consensus on higher and more effective research and development investments that we have reached here today with my colleagues from the other Member States is an important signal for all citizens,' said Ondrej Liska, the Czech Minister of Education, Youth and Sports who was chairing the meeting. 'Innovative companies and highly educated mobile scientists are an adequate strategy for the EU to combat the recession.' 

Elsewhere in the recommendations, the ministers call on Member States to encourage universities, research institutes and industry to 'step up their cooperation'; the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) will play a key role in achieving this goal. 

According to the ministers, the role of frontier research needs to be 'reinforced'. Furthermore, as the ministers noted, the review of the structures and mechanisms of the European Research Council (ERC) should be a priority. 

The Ljubljana process, which is designed to make the European Research Area (ERA) a reality, is the subject of another recommendation, in which both Member States and Commission are called on to ensure effective ERA governance and implement the five ERA initiatives (covering research infrastructures, joint programming, researchers' careers, international cooperation and knowledge sharing). 

Concerning research infrastructures, the ministers call for negotiations on the proposed legal framework for European research infrastructures to be completed 'as soon as possible'. 'It is also necessary to consider the research infrastructure investments with respect to their contribution to Europe's long-term competitiveness, as confirmed by the EU heads of state and government,' commented Minister Liska. 

Improving researchers' career prospects is a key pillar of European research policy, and the ministers state that measures are needed to improve training, enhance researchers' working conditions and ensure a balanced circulation of scientific talent. 'In addition, interest in research and innovation needs to be stimulated in society, particularly among the young,' the ministers underline. 

Other points adopted by ministers include the need to address the research and innovation needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the importance of improving the coordination of national research programmes. 

In total, the ministers unanimously adopted over 30 recommendations and key messages on how Europe should respond to the current economic downturn. These will now be sent for endorsement by the next European Council which will be held in Brussels on 19 and 20 March.

Source: http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&RCN=30549

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080109/full/451112b.html (subscription required). If you know free info on the topic, please post it here. Thanks

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