A forum themed "A Healthy World, A Better Future", which is one of the special forums of the World Conference on Science Literacy 2020, was held on Nov 25 in Beijing.
The conference was sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), organized by the National Communication Center for Science and Technology, CAST, and supported by World Animal Protection.
Chen Rui, deputy director of the National Communication Center for Science and Technology, CAST, and Zhao Zhonghua, chief representative of the Beijing Representative Office of the World Animal Protection, delivered speeches.
Tan Weihong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lesa Thompson, representative of the Asia-Pacific region of the World Organization for Animal Health, and Terry Townshend, advisor to the Paulson Institute, attended the event and delivered keynote speeches.
This forum was held both online and offline and was broadcast live. Over 80 participants, including experts in environment and health, medical treatment and public health, and artificial intelligence, joined the on-site meeting.
Focusing on a healthy world and a better future, the participants explored the balance between man and nature, and discussed the role of new health-related technologies in the post-epidemic era.
Chen said in his speech that Chinese people showed firm confidence and great results in the prevention and control of COVID-19, protecting the safety and health of people together with the world. He said people need to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation for the recovery of the global economy and protection of people's health.
The National Communication Center for Science and Technology is one of the most important international communication windows of the CAST, Chen added. It strives to bring together global scientific ideas, promote global innovation and development, and boost international scientific and technological exchanges. The center aims to provide more opportunities for international scientific and technological exchanges through this forum.
Zhao said human health is closely related to the health of nature and animals. Being kind to nature and animals is beneficial for the environment and health of human beings.
Excessive demand for natural resources will have a negative impact and it is vital to protect nature, animals, and biodiversity, Zhao stressed.
Tan mentioned the current medical care problems in China. He said that in the era of modern molecular medicine, the occurrence and development of diseases can be understood, diagnosed and treated at the molecular level. Tan shared a case study on the application of molecular medicine in COVID-19 coronavirus infections and the development of biomedicine.
Thompson stressed cooperation in antimicrobial resistance, rabies prevention and control, and food safety among different regions in his speech. He hoped to raise the awareness of antibiotics and reduce the use of antibiotics in animals globally, and urged people from all walks of life around the world to jointly protect the "common health" of the environment, humans and animals.
Townshend gave a speech on public health problems and economic and social risks caused by biodiversity loss, and measures to be taken accordingly. He introduced the successful case of swift protection in Beijing, demonstrating that individuals, governments and enterprises can contribute to the protection of biodiversity.
The forum also held high-end dialogues on the topics "New Changes in Human Health under the COVID-19" and "Science and Technology Promoting the Development of a Healthy World".
Participants conducted in-depth discussions on the role of scientific prevention during the pandemic; measures that support medical work under routine COVID-19 prevention and control, and the contributions of future science, such as artificial intelligence, to human health.
Participants in the dialogues included Wang Weibin, Deputy Director and Chief Physician of Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital; Zhang Haicheng, Chief Physician of Department of Cardiology, Peking University People’s Hospital; Weng Haoyu, Resident of Department of Cardiology, Peking University First Hospital; Zhao Chenglin, Radiologist, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University; Zeng Yi, Research Fellow from the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Zhao Mingguo, Research Fellow of the Department of Automation, Tsinghua University; Xu Yanwu, Smart Medical Scientist at Baidu and Zhang Lu, founding partner of Fusion Fund and well-known Silicon Valley investor.
The World Conference on Science Literacy was initiated and hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology. It is committed to building a global, comprehensive and high-level exchange and cooperation platform for science communication. It helps improve science literacy for the public and attempts to address global common problems in science, technology and social development.
Five special forums of the World Conference on Science Literacy 2020, which focused on public science literacy in different fields, were held from November 18 to December 7, with the plenary session of the Conference held on December 8 in Beijing.
