Introduction PLS 6
Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Lawrence Gonzi Honorable Dr. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando Monsieur lʼAmbassadeur de France, Ladies and Gentlemen Dear Friends At the start of our 6th Sharing Knowledge Conference, permit me to summarize some of our goals and first accomplishments and how they relate to the present situation in some Arab Countries. Science for Peace is an idea that was at the core of the creation of CERN half a century ago. Many of you donʼt know that during the Cold War, CERN was one of the few places in the worlds where scientists from America, the Soviet Union and China could meet and discuss freely with their European colleagues despite their political, ideological or religious differences. More recently, to respond to the challenge of a North-South divide, CERN has opened its experimental program to Non Member States belonging in particular to the Arab and Muslim world, such as Morocco, Iran, Pakistan and we will see during this conference what a striking success this has become. In 2004, for the 50th anniversary of CERN, I proposed extending that North-South dialogue to matters going beyond fundamental science and responding to the basic needs of development such as Water, Food, Energy or Fighting the digital divide. The success of that first event led to a series of subsequent meetings in Casablanca, Trieste, Chania, Amman, and to the creation in 2006 of a dedicated “Sharing Knowledge Foundation” . The basis of that Foundation rests on 3 beliefs: 1) Science is a universal language, belonging to all, irrespective of their political, philosophical or religious beliefs.
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