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Open to the World

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as by its French acronym CERN, makes all of its results widely available through an open source digital library. Image credit: 2005-2016 CERNThe Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance organises scientific surveys involving countries around the Atlantic, such as one carried out on the Canadian coastguard ship Louis S. St-Laurent which mapped the seafloor between Halifax, Canada and Tromso, Norway. Image courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
The Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance organises scientific surveys involving countries around the Atlantic, such as one carried out on the Canadian coastguard ship Louis S. St-Laurent which mapped the seafloor between Halifax, Canada and Tromso, Norway. Image courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Research and innovation can generate the knowledge and solutions to tackle urgent international problems like the Ebola outbreak or the refugee crisis. By removing barriers to international cooperation between researchers and innovators, engaging in science diplomacy, and leading research and innovation partnerships to address global challenges, there is enormous potential for Europe to have a leading voice in global debates. Being open to the world and maintaining the EU’s presence at the highest level of international scientific endeavour is a priority for the European Commission.

Getting people involved in local community projects can help them engage with how the oceans are changing. Credit — Avalonas5673, licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0
environment | open to the world
19 February 2018

Raising ocean literacy levels could protect marine environment

Hundreds of kilometres away from any sea, ocean or sandy beach, students from countries such as the Czech Republic have been discovering their connection with the marine world.

Using innovation tools in the humanitarian sector can help flip the top-down model of aid. Credit — UNWFP
health | open to the world
19 December 2017

Accelerators, fab labs and hackathons – the tech tools being co-opted for social good

Picture the humanitarian aid sector and you don’t immediately think of start-up accelerators and hackathons. But aid agencies are co-opting these tools of innovation to help solve global issues – and a new EUR 5 million prize from the EU is designed to boost this even further.

A 10-year research partnership between Mediterranean countries will tackle water scarcity and food insecurity in the region. Image credit – CC0
policy | open to the world
13 November 2017

Jordan joins Mediterranean research effort to tackle water, food insecurity

Jordan has become the latest country to sign up to an international research effort to tackle water scarcity and food insecurity in the Mediterranean region.

Dr Gihan Kamel, SESAME's infrared beamline scientist, returned to the Middle East from Italy, in a case of what she calls brain drain reversal. Image credit - ‘Gihan Kamel - infrared Beamline Lab’ by IAEA is licensed under CC BY 2.0
interview | frontier research | open to the world
06 November 2017

We do not fight when we deal with science – Dr Gihan Kamel

Scientists in the Middle East are putting politics aside and using the region’s new particle accelerator, SESAME, to collaborate on experiments such as distinguishing between benign and malignant cancer tissues, and analysing historical parchments from religious texts, according to Dr Gihan Kamel, the infrared beamline scientist at the facility.She will be speaking at a session on science diplomacy at the World Science Forum in Jordan on 10 November with Carlos Moedas, the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.

Os instrumentos de monitorização dos oceanos podem informar os cientistas sobre a forma como as alterações climáticas afetam as nossas águas. Crédito fotográfico — Aliança de Investigação sobre o Oceano Atlântico (AORA)
open to the world
13 July 2017

Acordo do Atlântico Sul engloba questões demasiado vastas para serem resolvidas individualmente

Cientistas de diferentes continentes coordenam investigações para melhor compreender o Atlântico Sul e Tropical, graças a uma colaboração liderada pela UE

Ocean monitoring tools can tell scientists how climate change affects our waters. Image credit  — Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance (AORA)
environment | policy | open to the world
13 July 2017

South Atlantic agreement takes on board questions too big to be solved alone

Scientists from different continents are coordinating their research to provide a deeper understanding of the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean, thanks to an EU-led collaboration.

Common crops are under threat from water scarcity and drought in the developing world. Image credit — ‘Drought affected area in Karnataka, India, 2012’ by Pushkarv is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
environment | open to the world
12 July 2017

Developing world drought threat to EU rice and cotton intensifies research efforts

A Europe-wide research effort is ramping up efforts to understand the risk to EU food supplies from climate change, after a report revealed that common staples are under threat from water scarcity and drought in the developing world.

Prof. Eliezer Rabinovici helped to set up SESAME so researchers in the Middle East could access a particle accelerator closer to home.
policy | frontier research | open to the world | interview
16 May 2017

Mid-East particle accelerator is ‘lighthouse’ for mutual understanding – co-founder

The first Middle East particle accelerator – officially opened on 16 May – sets an example for young researchers on how a small group of people can build bridges across the troubled region, according to one of the original founders of the project, Professor Eliezer Rabinovici from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, who also holds the Louis Michel Chair at France’s Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques.

Research on finger millet crops aims to boost essential vitamins to tackle malnutrition. Credit: ‘A Scene of Ragi’ by Thamizhpparithi Maari is licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0
agriculture | open to the world | health
10 May 2017

New strains of staple crops serve up essential vitamins

More nutritious versions of staple crops could increase daily vitamin and mineral intake for millions of people with poor diets, helping to overcome undernourishment that can cause blindness, brittle bones, feeble muscles and brain damage.

Over 1 million migrants arrived in southern Europe by boat in 2015. Credit: Flickr/ Freedom House
policy | open to the world
08 May 2017

Migration blind spots add impetus to Euro-Mediterranean research push

There is an urgent need to understand what would enable the middle-class families that make up the majority of Europe’s migrants to stay in their home countries, a meeting to secure research collaborations across the Mediterranean has heard.

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