New information resource: SciDev.Net
------------------------------------
Free-access website to provide news, views and information on sci-
ence, technology and development:
The first global website dedicated to both reporting on and discuss-
ing the role of science and technology in meeting the needs of devel-
oping countries was launched in London on Monday, 3 December 2001.
The website, known as SciDev.Net, has been created on the premise
that those who stand to benefit most from modern science and technol-
ogy tend to be those who have least access to information about ei-
ther, leaving them ill-equipped to take part in discussions about is-
sues that profoundly affect their lives.
"The Internet provides an unprecedented opportunity to address this
dilemma, and thus help to bridge the divide that separates the
'knowledge-rich' from 'knowledge-poor' nations of the world," says
David Dickson, formerly news editor of Nature and the founding direc-
tor of SciDev.Net.
"We hope that this website will therefore make a fundamental contri-
bution both to the creation of knowledge-based development strate-
gies, and to informed debate about the directions in which these
strategies should lead."
In order to achieve this goal, SciDev.Net, which can be accessed at
http://www.scidev.net aims to provide a focal point for both authori-
tative information and informed debate about issues such as climate
change, human cloning and intellectual property.
Its broad objective is to help empower individuals, communities and
decision-makers in developing countries, in particular by increasing
their ability to ensure the effective contribution of science and
technology to public health and economic well-being in an environmen-
tally sustainable way.
The website is backed by the world's two leading scientific journals,
Nature and Science. Each has agreed to provide free access to a se-
lected number of items from each week's issue (full access to items
in these publications is usually restricted to paying subscribers).
In addition to these journals - from which SciDev.Net will be both
financially and editorially independent - the project is also sup-
ported by the Third World Academy of Sciences, which brings together
more than 80 scientific academies from across the developing world.
"Publishers and journals have tended to be unimaginative in their
thinking about the developing world," says Philip Campbell, the edi-
tor of Nature. "In SciDev.Net, we have an original and well funded
initiative to help scientists and others in the developing world get
hold of information and opinion about things that really matter to
them. I'm very pleased that Nature has been able to help this get off
the ground, and will look forward to contributing to SciDev.Net
alongside Science and other publications."
"We at Science are pleased to join forces with our colleagues at Na-
ture in sponsoring SciDev.Net," says Donald Kennedy, the editor of
Science and formerly president of Stanford University in California.
"Information about new findings is even more important to scientists
in the developing world than to most of our subscribers, and we think
this effort will help meet a real need."
The intended audience for SciDev.Net includes anyone with a profes-
sional or personal interest in the contribution of science and tech-
nology to development. These range from laboratory researchers to
science journalists, students, teachers, librarians, aid agency offi-
cials, and government decision-makers.
Financial support has been provided by the UK Department for Interna-
tional Development (which also funded the planning phase of the web-
site), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and
the International Development Research Centre in Canada.
An integral part of the website will be a series of 'dossiers'. These
will bring together various types of material - ranging from short
news items and opinion articles to authoritative 'policy briefs' - on
key topics at the interface between science, technology and society,
with a particular focus on the relevance of these topics to develop-
ing countries.
Presenting a diverse range of information and substantial opportuni-
ties for feedback will, it is hoped, encourage web-based discussion
on some of the contentious science and technology and society issues
of the day. In addition, a network of correspondents in developing
countries will bring news about scientific and technological develop-
ments in the South to a global audience.
"We hope that SciDev.Net will serve as a broker between those that
have knowledge about science, technology and development, and those
who can benefit from this knowledge," says Geoff Oldham, formerly di-
rector of the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sus-
sex, and chairman of the website's board of trustees.
"We also hope that, through its network of southern based correspon-
dents, its policy briefing service, and its web-based debates,
SciDev.Net will become a voice for the South. Such a voice is ur-
gently needed in the international debates on a wide range of sci-
ence, technology and development issues cutting across health, agri-
culture, environment and industry."
The official launch of the website took place immediately following
the first meeting of its board of trustees on Monday 3 December. In
line with a commitment to represent a developing world perspective,
the majority of trustees come from Southern countries (three from
Sub-Saharan Africa, two from India, two from Latin America and one
from China).
In addition to operating the website, SciDev.Net hopes eventually to
become engaged in a range of activities aimed at integrating ideas
about science and technology into the cultural fabric of developing
societies. The trustees meeting, for example, was followed by a half-
day workshop on 'Science, Communication and Development' in which
several of Britain's leading experts on the communication of science
discussed the relevance of UK experience to the challenges facing
science communicators in the developing world. "Through its website
and other related activities, SciDev.Net hopes to place itself in the
vanguard of new web-based approaches to promoting the application of
science and technology to human well-being and sustainable develop-
ment," says Oldham.
To find out more about SciDev.Net, or to register to receive regular
e-mail alerts that will inform you of new material added to the site
each week, please visit:
http://www.scidev.net
Further Information
SciDev.Net is an independent not-for profit company, registered under
UK law as a 'company limited by guarantee', and has applied for reg-
istration as a charity.
If you would like more information about the company or its website,
which has been designed by the London-based company Synergy New Me-
dia, please send an e-mail to <info@scidev.net>
Main contacts:
David Dickson
Tel: +44-20-7291-3691
mailto:david.dickson@scidev.net
Professor Geoff Oldham
Tel: +44-1323-896-535
mailto:G.Oldham@btinternet.com
Danny Schaffer (Third World Academy of Sciences)
Tel: +39-40-224-0538
mailto:schaffer@ictp.trieste.it
--
To send a message to AFRO-NETS, write to: afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@usa.healthnet.org
in the body of the message type: subscribe afro-nets OR unsubscribe afro-nets
To contact a person, send a message to: owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org
Information and archives: http://www.afronets.org