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Page Updated:
20-Sep-2006
A Grand
Gathering 24 October 2002
The first Grand Gathering of the members of the NATO Science Committee with their advisory panels was a busy but stimulating week of events, which not only saw meetings of the Science Committee in different formats and the regular autumn meetings of the advisory panels, but also extraordinary plenary sessions surrounding both the prizegiving ceremony of the NATO Science Partnership Prize with Secretary General Lord Robertson, and a round-table discussion which examined different aspects of the Science Programme from a perspective of future directions.
The Science Committee met in three different formats, convening first at 19 with representatives of the NATO countries, regrouping at 20 to include the representative of the Russian Federation, and finally in the format of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), a body encompassing 46 countries.
The meeting of the Science Committee at twenty was an historic occasion, as it was the first time that Russia had met with the other members on an equal footing, and took her place at table between Portugal and Spain. The representative at the table was Academician Michael Kirpichnikov, First Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Industry Science and Technology of the Russian Federation. He was accompanied by Vladislav Nichkov, General Director, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Industry Science and Technology, and Evgeny Ugrinovich, Chief Expert, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology. This meeting was in the format of the NATO-Russia Council, which was set up following the decisions taken by Heads of State and Government of NATO countries and Russia at their meeting in Rome in May.
The current meeting reviewed the NATO-Russia Council ongoing activities under the JSTC (Joint Scientific and Technological Cooperation), and discussed ways of making the programme more effective so as to fund additional activities in the coming year. Another topic on the agenda was furthering joint action in the area of Combating Terrorism through Civil Science. Initial steps had been taken with the setting up of a NATO-Russia Task Force which had met in April, when some twenty promising areas for cooperation had been identified. It was now time to pursue these ideas further, and actions were planned to this end. The meeting ended with expressions of friendship and solidarity, and with anticipation of much fruitful dialogue to come. To Meet - To Know - To Understand - To Trust
It was with these words illustrating the four-step collaborative process that Mr. Jean Fournet introduced the theme for the round table sessions of the Grand Gathering. This collaborative process would remain the bedrock of the Science Programme, but he noted that in looking to the future more emphasis must be put on civil science vis-à-vis NATO's traditional challenges and missions, including terrorism and other new threats to security. In this regard he pointed to a first list of research topics of special interest, which had recently been defined. The four Round Table discussions developed this theme, concentrating on different aspects the Science Programme:
With this "Grand Gathering" the debate on the future of the Science Programme has been launched. It will intensify in the coming months, as the decisions taken at the Prague summit in November are implemented. In the meantime, prospective applicants should take note of the Research Topics of Special Interest, which they should consider when preparing applications for the four support activities of the Cooperative Science and Technology Sub-Programme. |
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