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Communiqué
G7 Science and Technology Ministers' Meeting in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, May 17, 2016
[PDF in English] [PDF in Japanese]
We, the Science and Technology Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, met in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture from May 15 to 17, 2016.
We recognized that science, technology, and innovation (STI) are essential for social and economic development, and for addressing global challenges such as health, energy, agriculture and the environment. We highlighted that STI should contribute to the development of sustainable and inclusive societies.
We acknowledged that the benefits of STI should be shared by society as a whole, and that their impact should be accelerated through the digitalization and deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the advancement of enabling technologies such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Capturing the vision of STI working for the benefit of all, Japan has developed the concept of "Society 5.0" which aspires to an inclusive, prosperous society where citizens are at the center of scientific and technological development.
Currently, we are facing long term and persistent global challenges such as an increasingly aging population, gender inequality, and major energy and environmental threats. Based on the experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake, we recognize, in particular, the importance of strengthening the resilience of societies to hazards and disasters. In addition, the gap between those who are flourishing in society and those who are left behind, both within societies and among countries, is expanding. We recognized that STI, especially when empowered by ICT, has great potential to bring prosperity to all, regardless of age, gender, language or region. We are therefore committed to work toward inclusive innovation.
Furthermore, we acknowledged that Open Science can change the way research and development (R&D) is undertaken, with emerging findings leading to far greater global collaboration and encouraging a much broader range of participants and stakeholders. We also recognized the importance of Open Science as a driver for greater inclusion in R&D, for example with the emergence of citizen science.
To address these issues, we decided that the principles of Inclusive Innovation and Open Science should be reflected within each of our specific STI areas of focus: Global Health, Gender and Human Resource Development for STI, The Future of the Seas and Oceans and Clean Energy. To have greatest impact for the benefit of our societies, we also committed to work across G7 ministerial groups and develop our work in close collaboration with other ministries.
We welcome the holding of the G7 Science and Technology Ministers' Meeting next year in Italy.
Today, we approved this communiqué and issue it for Leaders' consideration of the G7 Summit to be held in Ise-Shima on 26-27 May 2016.
Promotion of "Active Aging" in an Aging Society and the Advancement of R&D in Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and Poverty-Related infectious Diseases (PRDs).
We acknowledged that health matters pose some of the most pressing global challenges and that STI should play a major role in addressing these challenges.
Along with G7 countries, many emerging economies are facing the challenges of rapidly aging societies. We recognized that science-based innovation has an important role to play in addressing some of the most urgent of these challenges, including promotion of social systems that support healthy long life and good quality elderly care.
In addition, with greater awareness of the global health risks caused by infectious diseases, we decided to accelerate the establishment of collaborative policies and actions, such as collaboration on R&D to tackle NTDs and PRDs.
We also reaffirmed the importance, highlighted at the G8 Science Ministers Meeting in London in 2013, of acting concertedly to develop the scientific input for addressing the major health security challenges posed by antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR).
We recognized the importance of helping promote a society with active aging, where elderly citizens continue to be fully engaged within their societies in ways befitting their capacity and interests. We also recognized the role of STI in contributing to this through well-designed health systems for elderly care, including prevention, timely diagnosis, treatment, assistance and care of age-related health issues, and the social and physical infrastructure that enhanced inclusion. Also, we aim to promote and raise awareness of mid-life approaches to healthy lifestyles that support people to remain independent, healthy and active for longer in later life.
We reaffirmed the importance of research on brain science that can help us understand and address the mechanisms of aging-related brain disorders such as dementia. Greater international collaboration on this research should be encouraged. We also considered that fundamental research and the development of innovative technologies for a more dynamic understanding of brain function should be supported. Furthermore, we recognized that a more integrated approach to medical care and the utilization of robotics could contribute not only to the wellbeing and quality of life of the elderly, but also importantly to alleviate the burdens of the caregiver. We therefore decide to:
At the Meeting of the G7 Ministers of Science in Berlin in 2015, it was acknowledged that a collaborative framework was needed to address NTDs and PRDs. We welcomed the recommendations from the G7 group on NTDs/PRDs outlining concrete action for moving forward on G7 commitments (see Attached 1) to enhance coordination of NTDs and PRDs R&D. We welcome the progress made by the group and, expressly, we decide to:
Toward Expanding Women's Participation in STI and Preparing the Next Generation of Global Leaders
We recognized the importance of the "G7 Principles on Women's Entrepreneurship" adopted during the G7 Elmau Summit. In order to have female scientists, researchers, and engineers further participate and lead in STI fields, we affirmed the importance of promoting institutional changes and policy environments where women enjoy equal opportunities to develop and make full use of their abilities and advance their career prospects. In addition, we recognized the importance of enhancing the international networks of female researchers, engineers and students. We decide to:
We reaffirmed the importance of supporting and encouraging the talent and capabilities of the young generation working in the field of STI. In light of the discussion of the G7 Kurashiki Education Ministers' Meeting in Okayama, we shared the commitment to promote excellence within STEM education and recognized the importance of international exchanges and mobility programs for all students and researchers in order to foster leaders with a global perspective. We therefore decide to:
We expect that our actions will help and advance the activities of international scientific councils such as Global Young Academy (GYA).
Toward Science-Based Management, Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources
The seas and oceans are changing rapidly, with overuse and destruction of marine habitats, warming, increased ocean acidity and depleted oxygen. The health of the oceans has rightly been recognized as a crucial economic development issue and was included as the United Nations sustainable developments goal 14 (SDG 14).* Despite this progress, many parts of the ocean interior are not sufficiently observed.
Acknowledging all the above, we believe that it is crucial to develop far stronger scientific knowledge necessary to assess the ongoing changes and their impact on economies. We must also develop appropriate policies to ensure the sustainable use of the seas and oceans. Therefore, we welcome the progress and recommendation by the G7 expert working group on the Future of the Seas and Oceans (see Attached 2).
In support of the achievement of the SDG14 and other relevant goals and of the objectives of related conventions, we support taking the following actions:
We agree to maintain the expert group as a future Working Group to advance G7 action in this domain.
Meanwhile, we reviewed and discussed the follow-up status of research on marine litter (including plastic litter) and the environmental impacts of deep sea mining, as consented to at the Meeting of the G7 Ministers of Science in Berlin in 2015. In particular, we reaffirmed the importance of our scientific work to better understand the extent and impacts of marine litter, which contributes to the implementation of the priority measures identified by the G7 Toyama Environment Ministers' Meeting.
Promoting Initiatives to Develop and Adopt Innovative Technology That Look Toward 2050
At the Meeting of the G7 Ministers of Science in Berlin in 2015, we confirmed our intention to raise the efforts, cooperation, and transparency of energy research in order to accelerate the urgently required technological progress towards clean energy. We reaffirmed that we need to achieve low carbon economies and societies for sustainable development. Thus, we must accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean energy technologies. In the Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), it was confirmed that "accelerating, encouraging and enabling innovation is critical for an effective, long-term global response to climate change and promoting economic growth and sustainable development." We recognized that the Mission Innovation is an appropriate vehicle to accelerate the realization of this objective.
Taking into account the discussion at the G7 Kitakyushu Energy Ministerial Meeting, we decided to exchange information about R&D in the field of clean energy and to promote international research cooperation in the future.
Thus, we support taking the following actions:
Reconciling Economic Growth and Social Equality
Science and technology should be key tools for the development of sustainable economic growth in developing and emerging countries, but too often we come across instances where initiatives that have been supported through external aid and taken forward with the best of intentions have not resulted in socially sustainable development. In addition, within developed countries there is a widening gap between those who benefit from innovation and those who do not. In addition, science and technology should contribute to the resilience of societies to hazards and disasters.
At our meeting we addressed the importance of 'inclusive innovation' as an approach to address these challenges, recognizing diversity and access to digital skills as critical factors to spur inclusive innovation. If we achieve this, innovation could provide and accelerate many economic and social benefits as well as improve resilience to hazards and disasters around the world.
To realize inclusive innovation, we decide to promote and encourage new initiatives and approaches and discuss means of international cooperation. We also committed to ensuring that the next generation of researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs would be conscious of inclusiveness in their future activities.
We support taking the following actions:
Putting into Practice New Framework of Research and Knowledge Discovery, Sharing, and Utilization through Openness
Open science enables broad and straightforward access to and use of the results of publicly funded research (e.g. scholarly publications and resultant data sets) not only for academics, but also the private sector and the general public more broadly. Fundamental to the progress of open science is the continued investment by governments and others, such as the Group on Earth Observations' Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), in suitable infrastructures and services for data collection, analysis, preservation and dissemination. These systems and services offer a new approach to research, creating the possibilities for new scientific developments and increasing the returns from government investment in research. We endorsed this approach and decided to promote open science, taking in to account the particular characteristics of individual research fields.
There has been an abundance of open science practices in many countries and organizations and in many different fields of science in recent years. We recognized a growing need to share common international principles for open science and to put these principles into practice through open access to scholarly publications and open data. Furthermore, we recognized the importance of stronger foundations for the support of open science, such as incentives for researchers and institutions, support systems and human resources. We recognize the need to promote access, taking into consideration privacy, security, and legitimate proprietary rights, and different legal and ethical regimes, as well as global economic competitiveness and other legitimate interests.
We support taking the following actions:
* SDG14: "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development."
Source: Cabinet Office, Government of Japan
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