Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, October 30 (Reporters: Zhou Lin and Yang Youzong) Despite the pandemic, Roger Kornberg, the 2006 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, decided to come to Shanghai. After the 14-day quarantine period, on the October 30, as the chairman of the World Laureates Association (WLA), gave a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 3rd World Laureates Forum (WLA) in Shanghai.
“For most countries, the international conferences must be postponed or held online now. But this forum is held in a combination of online and offline methods, which is attributable to China’s anti-pandemic achievements and Shanghai’s efforts,” he said.
Nearly 140 world laureates and 200+ outstanding young scientists from 25 countries or regions on four continents... According to the statistics from the organizing committee of the forum, the number of scientists participating this year’s forum increased significantly rather than decreased.
“Frankly speaking, we had thought that overseas scientists couldn’t come to the venue of the forum. But Roger Kornberg believed that it was their duty to come to the scene, and that they would try their best as long as there was a slight possibility. In the end, thanks to joint efforts of all parties, he managed to come to China, which was really not easy,” said Wang Hou, secretary- general of WLA.
At the opening ceremony, “working together” was one of the key words in almost all the laureates’ speeches. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, scientists from various countries have worked together to find ways to fight against it, and carried out scientific and technological research and cross-border cooperation in many important areas such as treatment, R&D of drugs and vaccine, prevention and control, making significant contributions to the fight against the pandemic.
“We live in an interconnected world. Apart from infectious diseases such as novel coronavirus pneumonia, other urgent problems in biodiversity, sustainable energy, climate change, etc. also requires people all over the world to work together with an open and trusting attitude. Even basic scientific research requires joint efforts of thousands of scientists across the world,” Venki Ramakrishnan, the 2009 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, said that the forum brought together world’s top scientists regardless of age to jointly formulate plans for scientific research in the future.
The WLF, with “science and technology for the common destiny of mankind” as the eternal theme, focuses on three major tasks, namely promoting the development of basic science, advocating international cooperation, and facilitating growth of young people, and continues to pay attention to scientific and technological challenges facing humans at present and in the future.