Wuxi Theme Forum Explores Science & Technology Innovation for Our Urban Future

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Wuxi Theme Forum Explores Science & Technology Innovation for Our Urban Future

UNCTAD Secretary-General, Supachai Panitchpakdi delivers a keynote speech

20/06/10 – Wuxi, in the southeastern part of Jiangsu Province, China, welcomed today the first day of the "Science & Technology Innovation and Urban Future" Forum, the third of the Expo Shanghai Theme Forum series.

The forum opened with a high-tech presentation skillfully combining two of the underlying messages of the forum: science & technology as drivers of development, and then, that Wuxi is a prime example of a city leveraging them for a sustainable urban development (the last phrase of the presentation reading, "Wuxi, at the forefront of a new era").

How to use scientific and technological innovation in order to enhance a city's competitiveness, ensure urban security, and improve quality of life – these are the key issues around which the two-day forum is organized.

As Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, said in his keynote speech today, whether we can "capture and harness" scientific innovation will determine our ability to face the major urban challenges of our time, such as climate change, water shortages, or the need for cleaner and renewable energy sources. As such, scientific innovation is the "key to the survival and prosperity of cities." The choice of Wuxi to host this forum, he added, was "eminently appropriate," with Wuxi being home to one of the world's largest solar energy companies, Suntech.

Meanwhile, Wan Gang, Vice Chairman of the National Committee, CPPCC, and Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, further emphasized that science and technology are leading drivers of socio-economic growth in cities, and that cities, in turn, represent the progress of human civilization. But city development is in a period of transformation, he said, and Expo Shanghai will play an important role in pointing to future urban trends.

Wan Gang, Vice Chairman of the National Committee, CPPCC, and Chinese Minister of Science and Technology

The forum also enjoyed endorsements by two Nobel Laureates—Lee Tsung-Dao (1957 Nobel Laureate in Physics and currently Professor at Columbia University) and Barry Marshall (2005 Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine and currently Clinical Professor at the University of Western Australia).

Lee Tsung-Dao, 1957 Nobel Laureate in Physics and Professor at Columbia University

Lee said that World Expos today reflect the progress of mankind in better understanding nature's challenges and that they showcase man's success in advancing science to create modern, technologically adapted cities. Marshall, for his part, discussed the power of knowledge –specifically scientific knowledge in this case—in protecting ourselves from things such as infectious diseases and therefore contributing to a better life.

Barry Marshall, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine

A range of other speakers offered their insights on how science and technology innovation promote sustainable urban development. Among them was Yuan Longping, Director of the National Hybrid Rice Engineering Technology Research Center in China and Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, who took the case of the better-yielding hybrid rice – a work of scientific and technological innovation par excellence and of which he has been credited as pioneering – as playing a key role in ensuring global food security in the new century.

Yuan Longping, Director of the National Hybrid Rice Engineering Technology Research Center in China and Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering

Another speaker, Gordon Mackerron, Director of the Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Sussex, UK, discussed the role of governance issues in achieving urban sustainable development, offering a perspective that complemented some of the other presentations that largely focused on the importance of technology for development. Building on the notion that technological innovation is critical for urban sustainable development, he called for policies that are complementary and well-articulated so as to support the proper implementation of these technologies.