Context

 

The IPU was established in 1889 as the global organization of national parliaments with the aim of achieving peace through the principle of dialogue. The IPU’s enduring focus on peace was confirmed as one of its four policy areas in its 2022-2026 Strategy that establishes five Strategic Objectives for creating pathways for peace and security, while ensuring sustainable development and preserving our planet for the future generations. The European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), founded in 1954, is a world-renowned research centre for fundamental science in particle physics, with 23 Member States. Its visionary convention states that in addition to the construction of accelerators, experiments and infrastructure, the basic programme of the Laboratory should encompass international co-operation in research, along with the promotion of contact between scientists, training of scientists and dissemination of knowledge across borders. This spirit of openness and peaceful scientific collaboration has shaped CERN and continues to guide its activities.

 

Convinced of the importance of strengthening the nexus between the scientific and parliamentary communities in support of science and peace, the IPU Secretary General and the Director-General of CERN signed a Memorandum of Understanding in November 2016. The aim of the agreement is to promote and execute initiatives, based on science and STEM education, to favour intercultural dialogue and peace supported by the two communities. In October 2017, during the IPU Assembly in St Petersburg, it was agreed to establish the Science for Peace Schools and relevant parliamentary expert communities.

 

The IPU Committee on Middle East Questions and Working Group on Science and Technology :

 

Since its establishment in 1987, the IPU Committee on Middle East Questions has had as its core mission to support the Israeli-Palestinian peace process through political dialogue and mediation and has now expanded its scope to cover peace, security and dialogue throughout the region. This has been a difficult task, given the politicized environment. In response to the difficulty in achieving tangible results for peace, in recent years the Committee turned to science as an avenue for bringing parliamentarians together on issues of cooperation. In 2016 and 2017 the Committee held two round tables on water, producing several tangible results and demonstrating that science provided a neutral platform for dialogue, connecting individuals through scientific values in the search for solutions. The round tables showed that elements of conflict could be turned into reasons for co-existence. They provided the foundation for the establishment in May 2021 of the IPU Working Group on Science and Technology as the parliamentary focal point on issues related to science and technology.

 

Bridging the worlds of science and politics: Establishment of the IPU Science for Peace Schools :

 

The CERN-IPU relationship and the outcomes of the round tables helped congeal the idea of establishing the IPU Science for Peace Schools to bridge the worlds of science and politics by initiating dialogue and to help create a community of parliamentary experts to address challenges together under the neutral umbrella of science. The Science for Peace Schools project is the first joint activity between the IPU’s Committee on Middle East Questions and the Working Group on Science and Technology.

 

The IPU Science for Peace Schools project is designed to encourage representatives from parliamentary secretariats from around the world to work together and experience, in person, cooperation in science. The aim of this advanced training scheme, to be held on a yearly basis, is to focus on an evidence-based approach in addressing global and regional challenges while allowing for the application of dynamic solutions without the complexity of politics, and to facilitate engagement in peace projects. With the easing of health restrictions following the outbreak of Covid-19, CERN and the IPU have decided to organize the first pilot edition of the Science for Peace Schools in December 2022 under the theme: Dealing with water scarcity: an opportunity to rebuild peace with Science.