Science as a global public good? From the right to participate in science to science governance

Well-informed citizens are essential to democracy, and a “scientific temper”, a willingness to change previous conclusions in the face of new evidence, is crucial in making sense of and navigating the increasingly complex world we live in. Such a “temper” invigorates society’s ability to make informed judgements in complex settings. Treating science as a public good, free at the point of use, is a policy option that could contribute to this objective and a means of realising the human right to science. This has, however, become more problematic in the last two decades. Algorithms used by social media platforms have discouraged restraint and created self-insulating bubbles of certainty that undermine societal dialogue. Increasingly illiberal governments have fostered “alternative facts” and “viewpoint diversity”. The landscape of communication has been crumbling before our eyes, crippling the very institutions that have provided the frame for social solidarity in modern democracies. Where might countervailing action come from? Is the science community able to change? Could the universities lead in a new era of science that is open to society?

Professor Geoffrey Boulton FRS

Edinburgh University

Professor Geoffrey Boulton FRS

Edinburgh University

Geoffrey Boulton OBE FRSE MAE FRS is Regius Professor of Geology Emeritus at Edinburgh University, distinguished for his research in glaciology. He has been a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, chaired the Royal Society’s Science Policy Centre and several of its science reports, including Science as an Open Enterprise. He has been President of the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and is a member of the Governing Board of the International Science Council for which he authored its position paper on Science as a Global Public Good.

The right to science is often discussed in relation to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. However, it is also closely connected to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The concept of science as a public good underscores the important link between science and democratic governance. Consequently, various civil and political rights, such as the rights to freedom of expression, movement and association, as well as the prohibition of arbitrary detention and arrest, are relevant when considering the interrelation between science as a public good and the right to science. This contribution will explore how the rights in the ICCPR can help advance the right to science, particularly through the work of the Human Rights Committee.

Professor Yvonne Donders

UN Human Rights Committee

Professor Yvonne Donders

UN Human Rights Committee

Prof Dr Yvonne Donders is Professor International Human Rights and Cultural Diversity at the Department of International and European Public Law and (interim) Director of the Amsterdam Graduate School at the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam. She is also elected member of the UN Human Rights Committee.

In their piece based on the 2023 report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of Cultural rights, Xanthaki and Bidault argue that the right to science is essential in current discussions about the main challenges that society faces, not least the use of technology, climate change and the allocation and use of resources. Yet, this right as recognised in article 15 ICESCR is hugely underused by international organisations and states alike. The article discusses the meaning of science as infused by the principles of diversity and decolonisation of science. It then zooms into reflecting on the recognition of the right to ‘everyone’ and discusses how this can be realised. A decolonised right to science where everyone participates in defining and implementing it entails reset priorities and foci that the piece advocates for.

Professor Alexandra Xanthaki

UN Special Rapporteur Cultural Rights

Professor Alexandra Xanthaki

UN Special Rapporteur Cultural Rights

Alexandra Xanthaki was appointed UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights in October 2021.

Alexandra Xanthaki is Professor of Laws at Brunel University London, United Kingdom. A leading expert on cultural rights, Alexandra has published on cultural rights of minorities and indigenous peoples, cultural diversity, cultural heritage, balancing cultural rights with other rights and interests, and multicultural aspects of international human rights law.

Dr Mylène Bideault

Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural rights, UK

Dr Mylène Bideault

Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural rights, UK

Both the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) from 1966 offer a broad and rights-based approach to the topic of science as a global public good. One relevant and important part of the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications (or just the right to science), outlined in Article 15 of the ICESCR, is the obligation it places on member states to “recognize the benefits to be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields” (Article 15,4). International scientific cooperation and the free flow of people and ideas are necessary for scientists to enjoy their scientific freedom, which is respected in Article 15,3 ICESCR. And without scientific freedom no groundbreaking research will be generated that can be shared for the benefit of all. This essay will discuss two current developments that act as unfortunate obstacles to the enjoyment of science as a global public good: the securitization of research and intellectual property. The argument is that the right to science may help us fight against the worst excesses of both.

Professor Helle Porsdam

UNESCO Chair on the right to science, Denmark

Professor Helle Porsdam

UNESCO Chair on the right to science, Denmark

Helle Porsdam is Professor of History and Cultural Rights in the Faculties of Humanities and Law at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, where she also holds the UNESCO Chair in the Right to Science. She did her PhD in American Studies at Yale University and has been a Liberal Arts Fellow twice at the Harvard Law School. In 2021, she was Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge and before that, she was a Global Ethics Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs in New York City.

Porsdam has written extensively on cultural rights, especially the right to science. Among her most recent work may be mentioned her monographs The Transforming Power of Cultural Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and Science as a Cultural Human Right (University of Pennsylvania Series in Human Rights, 2022), her co-authored volume Scientific Freedom: The Heart of the Right to Science (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023), and her co-edited volume The Right to Science: Then and Now (Cambridge University Press, 2022).

This essay will explore what people might be asking for when they insist on “the human right to science”. Typically, rights are connected with actions or with protections against the actions of others. In the case of science, there might be a right to participate in scientific investigation, or a right to have access to the studies of the scientific community, or a right not to have a local culture displaced by practices generated from some field of science. And, beyond these three possibilities, there are other alternatives. I shall canvass what I take to be the principal candidates, and try to evaluate their status as pan-human rights.

Professor Philip Kitcher

Columbia University, US

Professor Philip Kitcher

Columbia University, US

Philip Kitcher is John Dewey Professor Emeritus at Columbia University and an Honorary Fellow at Christ's College Cambridge. He is the author of 22 books on philosophical topics ranging from the sciences to ethics, political philosophy, music and literature. His awards include the Prometheus Prize (given by the American Philosophical Association for work that expands the frontiers of Science and Philosophy), the Rescher Medal (for systematic philosophy), the Hempel Award (for lifetime achievement in Philosophy of Science), and the BBVA "Frontiers of Knowledge" Award for work in the Humanities. He received the Lakatos Prize for his Book Vaulting Ambition: Sociobiology and the Quest for Human Nature, the Lionel Trilling Award for In Mendel's Mirror, and the Lannan Award for Living with Darwin.

In this talk I will be exploring the broad contours of a new social contract for science, with a focus on public participation in science. I start with the debate on disinformation and misinformation and I present a problem that arises when the best available scientific evidence is used and communicated to the public in a deceptive way. Using as a test case the problem of global plastic waste, I argue for the need of a human-rights approach to science. I leverage the human right to participate in science and the right to a clean environment to argue that public participation in science is pivotal to a new transparent and participative social contract for science and to the delivery of transnational public goods such as environmental protection.

Professor Michela Massimi

University of Edinburgh, UK

Professor Michela Massimi

University of Edinburgh, UK

Michela Massimi is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Edinburgh. She is Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Royal Astronomical Society, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and elected member of the Academia Europaea. Professor Massimi has written extensively on a variety of philosophical topics surrounding scientific practice, from pluralism in science to local knowledge and the right to participate in science. In 2017 she received the Royal Society Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal for her interdisciplinary work in philosophy of science. Her 2022 monograph Perspectival Realism (OUP) won the Lakatos Award in 2023. She has served as President of the US-based Philosophy of Science Association (2023-24) and previously as Vice President of the European Philosophy of Science Association (2015-19). For more details please see: https://www.michelamassimi.com.

At first sight, the idea of a human right to participate in science may seem absurd. Many assume science must be the preserve of those with the training and aptitude. However, feminist studies of science teaches that science is a social practice, with norms of inclusion and exclusion. Political philosophers have also introduced the notion of ‘contributive justice’: that it is an injustice if some cannot contribute to the well-being of others. Combining these insights with that of science as a global public good, I explore the possibilities of a human right to participate in science.

Professor Jonathan Wolff

University of Oxford, UK

Professor Jonathan Wolff

University of Oxford, UK

Jonathan Wolff (FBA) is Emeritus Alfred Landecker Professor of Values and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford. He is a political philosopher, especially interested in the connection between political philosophy and public policy. He is the author of many books, papers, and newspaper columns, including on questions of health and human rights. He was a member of The Nuffield Council of Bioethics. He is the President of The Royal Institute of Philosophy.

In a world where scientific data -and data generally- have significant commercial value, and where geopolitical tensions strongly impinge on international scientific collaboration, the notion and practice of science as global public good is under pressure and so are the ways to pursue it.

Science diplomacy acknowledges that science impacts diplomacy and diplomacy impacts science, and that both cooperation and competition shape the diverse practices of science diplomacy -from science fostering international relations and serving global public goods, to foreign and security policy interests being in conflict with the notion of science as an open, collaborative enterprise.

Three challenges and opportunities for safeguarding science as a global public good through science diplomacy looks especially worth considering: they related to strategy, data, people.

Strategy: the notion of “technological sovereignty” emerged recently: is such notion, and its practices, compatible with or a threat to the notion of science -closely interlinked with technology- as global public good?

Data: scientists have been developing and relying on large datasets to address the causes and impacts of climate change, pandemics and more; these are at risk due to both deletion policies by governments and by appropriation processes by companies. How can science as global public good ‘survive’ such challenge?

People: science is made by people (also in an increasingly “AI world”). Academics, scientists, teachers have been increasingly affected by or a direct target of violent conflicts. In addition, academic freedom is being restricted in many countries. What are the implications for science as global public good?

Dr Angela Liberatore

Science Diplomacy Fellow, European University Institute, Italy

Dr Angela Liberatore

Science Diplomacy Fellow, European University Institute, Italy

Angela Liberatore is Science Diplomacy fellow at the European University Institute. She previously served as Head of the Scientific Department at the European Research Council, the EU programme for frontier research in all fields of knowledge. Previously, Angela worked in the EU research programmes on environment and climate, social sciences and humanities and then international cooperation. Among her ‘highlights’, she co-chaired the Social Protection group for the UN Research Roadmap for COVID-19 Recovery, contributed to the EC White Paper on European Governance and the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, and -more recently- was part of the drafting team of the European Approach to Science Diplomacy (published in February 2025). Angela holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences (European University Institute) and a degree in Philosophy (University of Bologna) and was Fullbright Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.

Around the world, girls and women are much less likely to be able to access and complete a good education, yet investing in their education helps them develop skills for jobs - the surest way out of poverty. However, around the world expectations of what is ‘appropriate’ for girls to study and the imposition of gender stereotypes can limit the actual education and the aspirations of women. Even in countries such as the UK, stereotyping continues to deter girls from pursuing careers based around subjects like the physical sciences, engineering and computing, and timely careers advice is often lacking.

Access to a good science education matters, whether or not a girl is going to follow a professional career, for instance providing information about nutrition and healthcare that can be brought into the home environment. Indeed, in an increasingly technological world, many daily decisions require some understanding of basic science concepts. The potential absence of the voices of women mean many problems that affect them may get overlooked or remain unfunded. This is the case, for instance, for many diseases that affect only or predominantly women, such as endometriosis. What technologies get developed and who they benefit needs to be as focussed around women as men. The world economy is impacted by the loss of women’s voices and individuals may be hindered or even harmed.

Professor Dame Athene Donald DBE FRS

Professor Dame Athene Donald DBE FRS

Athene Donald is an emeritus Professor of Physics who is well known for her early work on synthetic polymers, concentrating on relating the structure of polymers to their function. Athene subsequently transferred her knowledge to soft matter and biological physics more broadly, developing specialised imaging techniques such as environmental scanning electron microscopy along the way.

In synthetic polymers, she studied crazing — the fine cracks that precede fracture — by exploring what determines their formation. Subsequently, she utilised X-ray scattering techniques to characterise changes that occur in the natural polymer starch upon cooking and other forms of processing.  More recently she explored universal behaviour in protein aggregation (in vitro).

In 2006, she was the Bakerian Lecturer for the Royal Society. She won the 2009 L'Oreal/ UNESCO Laureate for Europe. In 2010 was awarded the Faraday Medal of the Institute of Physics and also received a DBE for services to physics.  From 2013-18 she served on the Scientific Council of the ERC, and is Chair of REF2021 Interdisciplinary Advisory Council.

Beyond her research, Athene has an active interest in issues surrounding gender equality and is a former Chair of the Athena Forum, which aims to improve the situation for women in science, technology, engineering and medicine in UK higher education. Athene has twice been a member of the Society’s Council and chaired the Education Committee from 2010-2014.