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Knowledge and Diplomacy Science Advice in the United Nations System (2002) / Chapter Skim
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1 The Rise of Advisory Systems for Science and Technology
Pages 5-12

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From page 5...
... . In addition, the United Nations is now emerging as a central forum for harmonizing international practices in a wide range of fields related to science and technology.
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From page 6...
... to share their knowledge with earnest and deserving colleagues in developing countries. Several UN organizations based on this premise were established in the 1960s, some of which were attached to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
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From page 7...
... Every government has to make decisions regarding education, procurement of technology, agricultural development, health, industry, natural resources, and mining that require reliable knowledge of the state of the art in science and technology. But, even so, the UN and most of its subsidiary organizations did not evolve an effective science and technology advisory system at that time, either for themselves or for their member countries, although, as described in Chapter 2, some advisory mechanisms in the UN system have played useful roles.
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From page 8...
... The task of development was defined largely in terms of macroeconomic theories embodied in structural adjustment programs (Binswanger, 2001~. Developing countries pressed for greater access to technology, as well as investment in science and technology capacity development.
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From page 9...
... "Science and Technology in the United Nations System: An Overview". Report prepared for United Nations Development Programme, New York, 1999.
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From page 10...
... While development policy stressing structural reform and investment was being promoted through institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations continued to champion the traditional role of science and technology for development, and much of the diplomatic activism shifted to issues like intellectual property protection. The growing diplomatic conflict in these areas led to the convening of the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development in 1979 in Vienna (Wilkowski, 1982~.
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From page 11...
... The United Nations system has made use of science advice since its founding. Viewed over the five decades since the creation of the UN, the incorporation of science advice into decision making has steadily increased, albeit with setbacks from time to time.
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Key Terms

  • nations conference
  • technology advisory
  • technology advice
  • international diplomacy
  • capacity building

  • advisory mechanisms
  • steadily increased
  • social council
  • nations economic
  • provide science

  • scientific organizations
  • scientific committee
  • scientific assessments
  • hydrological decade
  • transfer similar

  • nations organizations
  • increased experience
  • advisory apparatus
  • real science
  • property protection

  • dominant patterns
  • cooperative planning
  • development purposes
  • explicitly related
  • poorer nations

  • principles derived
  • nations continued
  • specialized agencies
  • increasingly irrelevant
  • environmental movement


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