Novotel Bogor, 9-11 July 2011
His Excellency, Special Science Envoy of President Obama, Dr. Bruce Alberts;
His Excellency, US Ambassador to Indonesia, Dr. Scot Marciel;
My colleagues President of Indonesian Science Academy Professor Sangkot Marzuki, the Director General of Higher Educations, Heads of National Research Institutes, University Rectors;
Distinguished guests, US-National Academy of Science Delegation. Indonesian scientists, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Evening to all of you.
It is a great pleasure and an honor to me to give a remark in this meeting of the first Indonesian-American Kavli Frontiers of Sciences Symposium. First of all, I would like to welcome all US participants to Indonesia and to this historical city of Bogor.
In this opportunity, I also would like to especially thank Dr. Bruce Albert for the initiation, and US government for the excellent supports in organizing this meeting. This symposium will contribute a great deal to the development of science and technology in Indonesia, and is very relevant and in line with our priority to further promotes science, technology, and innovation.
I also would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to my colleagues from Indonesian Science Academy (AIPI), for the great efforts in organizing this excellent event, which is of great important in facilitating our young scientists with an opportunity to experience a high level world class scientific discussion with their US counterparts. I believe this will lead them to a strong motivation in developing and conducting cutting edge researches.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
One of the defining marks of humanity is our ability to affect and predict our environment. As we are facing the biggest global challenges of humankind to supply foods, fibers and fuels to our world’s growing population, to combat infectious diseases and to mitigate the impact of climate change, young scientists have even bigger responsibilities to search and solve every emerging need.
Climate change requires substantial modification in how we produce and use our energy and natural resources. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the use of energy and our economic activities will need to be realised through technologies based on lower carbon intensity per unit of service than current technologies.
Therefore, I would like to support the topics chosen in this symposium which comprises six topics that include renewable energy, climate change and infectious diseases which are among the very crucial issues we are facing in our live today and in the future.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
All the challenges require strong scientific research and adequate technological change in all our economic sectors. The question is how can we make sure that our research activities and technological innovation linked to ongoing investment cycles will reflect the urgency of coping with these challenges? That will require significant change in our effort in doing researches and developing technologies.
We understand that pursuing a scientific career, especially for bright and young researchers in a developing country like Indonesia is not easy. It requires a strong motivation, needs a certain discipline and professional commitment among many other urgent issues that asking for attention. However, I believe that Indonesian young scientists are as resourceful and passionate about their work and certainly as creative and innovative as their colleagues from abroad.
Especially, in the era of global information today, the world is quite flat. A young student here in Bogor can have equal opportunity as anywhere in the globe to access to the global knowledge needed to pursue his or her scientific career. What is needed is communication, networking and collaboration, to close the knowledge gap and to brigde the information devide, which becomes quite more ordinary today than in the past, thank to the global information and communication technology.
Therefore, this kind of scientific event is essential to our scientists in providing opportunity to communicate with their colleagues from abroad to establish networking and to build a strong collaboration.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In order to come up with verified scientific solutions for each challenge faced by our society, a continuous endeavor in researches for science and technology development is crucial. In this regards, the linkage and networking between the knowledge development and the effort of utilization are greatly important. If the science and technology generated through researches is not used, the effort will not sustain. Solutions come from innovation, and what is not utilized is not innovation, and thus gives no solution.
Our Ministry of Research and Technology has focused its program on improving the science and technology utilization by the society through the effort of bridging the knowledge gap between the universities and R&D agencies and the industries and the society to promote development of science-technology and product cycles.
I hope this symposium, which is attended by our future leaders in science from both of our countries, not only to discuss the cutting-edge researches but also to exchange brilliant ideas in resolving many problems faced by humanity. I believe our strong partnership between US and Indonesia will generate magnificent benefit not only to Indonesia and US, but also to the world society as a whole, to solve the greatest challenges ever faced by the humankind.
Lastly, in addition to having a fruitful discussion, please do not forget to also enjoy this momentum of visit, to have a good sightseeing around Bogor and other part of Indonesia.
Closing my remarks, I would like to declare that this Symposium is formally opened.
Thank you, and have a good evening.
Suharna Surapranata
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