On the occasion of World Science Day for Peace and Development, celebrated on November 10, the UNESCO theme for 2026, "Finding Common Ground through Scientific Diplomacy," highlights the significance of science beyond producing knowledge and technological advancements. Science influences our relationship with the world, our thinking, and our ability to build a common future. It is an intellectual adventure, a conquest of freedom, and a collective responsibility. According to Professor Dhia Bouktila, a Genetics professor at the University of Monastir, science can be a space for dialogue, enabling the search for common ground amidst rivalries and tensions.
Scientific imagination plays a crucial role in thinking about alternative futures. Science often begins where imagination exceeds established knowledge limits. It is not just an experiment, demonstration, or discovery but a new representation of reality, a question that shifts our understanding boundaries. Scientific imagination and rigor are not opposites; they are interdependent. Imagination allows us to consider hypotheses that observation alone may not suggest. Science progresses not only by accumulating answers but also by inventing new ways to question the world.
The freedom to question is fundamental to scientific sovereignty. A society cannot truly own knowledge if it only receives predefined problems and solutions from elsewhere. It must identify its vulnerabilities, define priorities, and construct scientific agendas based on its realities. Scientific sovereignty means participating in universal knowledge production without sacrificing intellectual autonomy. A society that does not formulate its questions risks depending on others' answers.
The time required for scientific progress is essential for sustainable development. Science is a long-term endeavor, but societies are increasingly subject to immediate results. Discoveries often rely on years of research, unsuccessful trials, and accumulated knowledge. Reducing scientific activity to instant indicators, quantifiable objectives, or quickly communicable results overlooks the nature of discovery. Science needs continuity, trust, and the freedom to work without pressure to demonstrate immediate utility.
Doubt and humility are foundational to a culture of dialogue in science. Science does not claim definitive truth but constructs provisional, argued, and revisable knowledge. Recognizing errors, abandoning hypotheses, or revising theories demonstrate scientific vitality. The strength of science lies not in avoiding mistakes but in its organized capacity to detect and correct them. This epistemological humility is valuable in societies where certainty is often confused with authority.
Scientific progress does not automatically translate to human progress. A society can have advanced technologies without developing the necessary scientific culture to understand their implications and risks. Access to innovations does not guarantee intelligent appropriation or equitable use. The impact of discovery on daily life involves education, institutions, public policies, productive capacities, and collective choices. The question is not just what science can make possible but also the goals we set for its advancements.
Science contributes to peace and development only if its knowledge and benefits are shared globally. It is a collective intellectual heritage, enriched by the exchange of ideas, experiences, and cooperation. Science encourages reasoned confrontation of ideas and solutions to common challenges, opening dialogue spaces between societies with opposing interests. Its humanitarian vocation is to reduce vulnerabilities, improve living conditions, and expand possibilities for present and future generations.
Key points
- Science must be accompanied by responsible political, economic, and ethical choices to ensure its benefits are not limited to a few.
