Signed exactly 76 years ago today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is . It is widely acknowledged as the foundation of international human rights work, not just in legal settings but in wider civil society.
Authors
- Sujatha Raman
Professor and UNESCO Chair-holder, Australian ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ University
- Brian Schmidt
Distinguished Professor, Australian ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ University
But few know that among the many social and political freedoms defined by the declaration is a human right to science. of the declaration positions this right in the cultural sphere, stating:
Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
This right might seem meaningless at a time when have for science and appear to be ignoring for how to address global problems such as climate change.
But there’s much more to the right to science than what you might immediately think of. It can also serve as a spark for human imagination and curiosity. And this is where its true power resides.
The evolution of the right to science
Interpretations of the right to science have over the past decade.
It was initially interpreted mainly as the right of scientists to do their research and the public’s right to access and benefit from this research. But this led to no small share of conundrums. For example, what if the right to do research is at odds with the human rights of affected communities?
This conflict arises in virtually all fields, from anthropology and archaeology to computer science and the life sciences. For example, building a laboratory or collecting data for research can potentially put a community at risk of . Some scholars therefore argue that the right should also include .
The United States ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Academies have also begun to recognise that access and benefit doesn’t automatically follow from biomedical research. In fact, research may increase inequities if it’s not conducted .
Equally, what are we forgetting if we treat the public only as a beneficiary of science done by credentialed researchers?
The right to science is also about .
For example, it means Indigenous peoples have the right to be recognised as knowledge producers – a sentiment captured in Australia by that First Nations peoples are also the First Astronomers.
The International Science Council’s nicely captures these nuances. It states that the right allows people to participate in and enjoy the benefits of science.
The right to science as a force for curiosity
Most of these discussions see the right to science as a way to protect fundamental freedoms – conjoined with responsibilities – of both scientists and the public. But a different meaning emerges when we remember the right to science is also a cultural right.
In to in Switzerland in 2015, Farida Shaheed, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur for Cultural Rights, explained how the right to science and the right to culture are inextricably linked. Both entail, she said, the conditions for:
people to reconsider, create and contribute to cultural meanings, expressions, or manifestations and ways of life.
This highlights how the right to science can serve as a force to galvanise the more positive role of curiosity and the imagination. As such, it can be a spark for a new ethos of curiosity-driven research for the planet.
Curiosity in a time of crisis
The role of science in policy making and practice is at a crossroads.
Governments routinely invoke geopolitical as reasons for supporting research – particularly on so-called “critical technologies” such as quantum computing.
Yet the planet faces of climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and deepening inequalities. The response to this must therefore include all of humanity while creating space for researchers to be curious about different .
The International Science Council’s initiative on for Sustainability is predicated on the understanding that we won’t achieve the ambitions of the with siloed thinking or new technologies alone. The council calls for all disciplines to work together to produce actionable knowledge oriented towards practical solutions for our planetary challenges.
Humans thrive on curiosity even in times of crisis. We have many examples from the 20th century of curiosity-driven research yielding a ” ” from which came many of the technologies we take for granted today. The challenge now is to harness and support this curiosity in ways appropriate to the scale and scope of the challenges we currently face.
We know from history that worlds are created and changed not just through new technologies and market-based solutions, but also through and .
The right to science provides a welcome stimulus for thinking more deeply, creatively and curiously about these interrelationships in developing policies for research.
