“Why Science Matters — Engaging Minds and Empowering Futures”

November 10, 2025

Anna Fumarola and Dr. Nathalie van Meurs,
on behalf of CONNECTS UK, DNA-UK and Middlesex University

On the occasion of World Science Day for Peace and Development 2025, CONNECTS-UK and the Members of its Action Coordination Board reaffirm their conviction that ethically responsible science is a global public good – a shared endeavor that transcends borders, cultures, and ideologies. Science as a shared endeavour, resulting in shared knowledge, serves the cause of peace, understanding, and sustainability.

In today’s polarised and polycrises-facing world, marked by armed conflict, environmental degradation, and the erosion of public trust, we believe that science can and must remain a voice for reason, dialogue, and hope. Through evidence, cooperation, and creativity, science enables us to confront common challenges, to rebuild what has been broken, and to imagine more peaceful futures together.

While science should be neutral in its outcomes, its findings can be misused to divide or weaponise, just as they can illuminate paths to recovery, resilience, and reconciliation. As it stands, the scientific community is still trusted but not always heard (Cologna et al., 2025; Vaupotič, et al., 2021). There have been great initiatives to include the Arts into science research (STEM) to communicate complex information in a variety of media to facilitate a wider reach (Belbase et al., 2021). Trust in science is context-dependent and varies across nations (Wellcome Global Monitor, 2018) but what is more, people believe demonstrably false things because social context amplifies a tendency to ignore potentially disconfirming evidence (Sulik et al., 2021).

On this day, we renew our commitment to ensuring that science is ethical and responsible, that scientific knowledge is available to all, and that the use of scientific knowledge is guided by human values – truth, empathy, and solidarity. 

Science as a Foundation for Peace

Peace is more than the absence of war. Peace is built on respect and understanding others. Globally shared endeavours, nurtured by curiosity and respect for evidence, help us develop this respect and understanding while addressing the global challenges that face us, together.

From health and climate research to education and innovation, scientific cooperation provides a foundation for trust; it is a way for societies to engage constructively even in moments of crisis. Every initiative that strengthens scientific literacy also strengthens the culture of peace.

From Science to Policy and Public Support

Semmelweis (1861) was ignored when he warned about the importance of sanitising and Fourier’s (1837) warnings about rising temperatures were also not heard. How we think and behave is impacted by institutional, political and economic forces that shape everyday routines and practices (Fischer, et al., 2019). Citizens do not necessarily make decisions based on evidence, experts do not always agree on the correct approach to problems affecting citizens. And even when scientists provide information to support policy, politicians face the challenging task of weighing the relative importance of a variety of scientific facts in the development of science-backed policies. Despite improved research methods, experts differ in opinions on how to best tackle the climate crisis and some choose to adapt their message to their national audience (e.g., Dan & Ihlen, 2011).

Albert Allen Bartlett, physicist, said “The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function” (cited in Vaillant, 2023). It is an example of knowledge that is important to know, but has not transferred effectively: although the average citizen would be interested in the weather, and is especially concerned about tsunamis, tornadoes and floods, they may not heed warnings from experts about sudden and exponential weather changes that may cause wildfires and how ‘weather’ relates to ‘climate crisis’.

Effective communication and meaningful knowledge absorption requires a purpose – the average person does not like to attain knowledge for no reason or purpose (David et al., 2024). However, there seems to be a gap between what the public needs to know and what they want to know.

We therefore call upon governments, institutions, educators, and citizens to champion scientific education and open inquiry, ensuring that future generations grow up equipped to think critically, question responsibly, and engage respectfully. Every child who learns to ask questions grounded in reason takes a step toward peace.

Empowering Futures through Inclusion

No progress is sustainable if it is not inclusive. We do not purport a universal adherence to an (outdated) norm; we reaffirm the importance of diversity (of mind), equity, and the full participation of women, LGBTQ+ community, and people representing communities from around the world, in all areas of science, technology, and peacebuilding as a global endeavour.

Science, like peace, flourishes through diversity — of ideas, methods, context, and voices.

A Continuing Commitment

For CONNECTS-UK, World Science Day is not only a date on the calendar but a guiding principle throughout the year. Science is nothing without purpose and without links to society. For science to fulfil its potential, it needs to connect the disciplines but it also needs research from other fields; we need the arts and languages to communicate, history to reflect,

ethics and law to regulate, sociology and economics to plan. In all our events, collaborations, and outreach activities, we remain committed to:

• Raising public awareness of how science and research contributes to peace, resilience, and sustainable societies;
• Encouraging renewed dedication to using science and research for the benefit of humanity and the planet;
• Inspiring young people to see science and research as a path toward dialogue, empathy, and shared progress.

As we mark World Science Day for Peace and Development 2025, we reaffirm our shared belief:

Science and research matters — because it engages minds and empowers futures.

Through integrity, imagination, and international cooperation, we can make science a language of peace and a force for the common good.

References

Belbase, S., et al., (2021) At the dawn of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education: prospects, priorities, processes, and problems. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 53(11), 2919–2955. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1922943

Cologna, V., Mede, N.G., Berger, S. et al. Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries. Nat Hum Behav (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5

Dan, V. and Ihlen, Ø. (2011) “Framing expertise: a cross‐cultural analysis of success in framing contests”, Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 368-388. https://doi.org/10.1108/13632541111183352

David, L., et al., (2024) The unpleasantness of thinking: A meta-analytic review of the association between mental effort and negative affect. Psychological Bulletin, 150(9), 1070–1093. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000443

Fischer, R., et al., (2019) Does organizational formalization facilitate voice and helping organizational citizenship behaviors? It depends on (national) uncertainty norms. Journal of International Business Studies. 50, 125–134  https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-017-0132-6

Navajas, J., et al., (2019) Reaching Consensus in Polarized Moral Debates Reaching Consensus in Polarized Moral Debates, Current Biology, Vol 29 (23), p 4124-4129

Sulik, J., et al., (2021) Collectively jumping to conclusions: Social information amplifies the tendency to gather insufficient data. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(11), 2309–2320. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001044

Vaillant, J. (2023) Fire Weather. A True Story From A Hotter World. Sceptre

Vaupotič, N., et al., (2021) Trust in Science and Scientists: Implications for (Higher) Education. In: Blöbaum, B. (eds) Trust and Communication. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72945-5_10

Wellcome Global Monitor, 2018 https://wellcome.org/insights/reports/wellcome-global-monitor/2018