International Dialogue on Science for Sustainability (D4S)

On the initiative of the G8 countries (Heiligendamm Summit in 2007), guidelines and ideas for national programmes, scientific and technological cooperation, and international research dialogue are being developed in cooperation with important emerging countries. The most important cooperation partners are: 

• Brazil 
• Russia
• India
• China
• South Africa.

In August 2007, the IB organized a kick-off event for the initiative "Dialogue for Sustainability (D4S): Sustainable Solutions - Science for Sustainability". After coordination between D4S and other related initiatives, programmes and institutions, a number of bilateral conferences and other events have taken place with the aim of laying the foundations for long-term, strategic partnerships in the field of sustainability research. The United Nations University (UNU) in Bonn is acting as the IB's partner in the organization and implementation of the follow-up conferences.

The dialogue with Brazil was initiated with a bilateral workshop on 13 March 2009, which took place in connection with the ECOGERMA trade fair. On this occasion, Federal Minister Prof. Annette Schavan and Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Sergio Machado Rezende signed a memorandum of intent concerning the German-Brazilian Dialogue for Sustainability on Research Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation (12 March 2009).

A bilateral working group with Russia has been established. It held a workshop in June 2008 to discuss its next steps. Due to a government reshuffle and other personnel changes on the Russian side, the first dialogue event has had to be moved to 2010.

The first German-Indian conference on "Science for Sustainability - Driver for a Common Future" took place in New Delhi on 9 September 2008. The organizers were the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Department for Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India. Approximately 80 representatives from science, politics, industry and civil society took part. The event formed part of Federal Minister Dr. Annette Schavan's visit to India. During the conference, she and her Indian counterpart Kapil Sibal signed a Joint Declaration in which they agreed to work together closely in the field of "Research for Sustainability". The second German-Indian Conference on Research for Sustainability entitled "Science for Sustainability - Driver for a Common Future" (in Bonn on 27 and 28 April 2009) concentrated on the subjects of energy and land use research. German and Indian experts (a total of 67 participants) developed proposals for future cooperation in these important fields of research. The third Indo-German Conference on Science for Sustainability focussing on the subjects water and waste management was held at the IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India on 3 and 4 February 2010, back-to-back with the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS 2010).

A similar joint declaration on cooperation in sustainability research was signed with China in April 2008, also at ministerial level. The first joint event is to take place in Mai 2010 in Beijing.

Thanks to its excellent university system and its large number of research institutions and commercial companies with research departments, South Africa is seen as the "gateway to Africa" when it comes to research and technology. It is also one of Germany's most important cooperation partners on the African continent. Based on a Joint Declaration of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST), which was signed by Federal Minister Prof. Annette Schavan and then Minister Mosibudi Mangena in February 2008, the first conference of the German-South African sustainability research dialogue took place in June 2008 and a second conference took place in Pretoria on 26 and 27 October 2009.

Further information about the International Dialogue on Science for Sustainability you can find on the D4S website. [more...]