News Desk
Beijing:: A UNESCO and World Organization for Scientific Literacy (WOSL) session at the 2026 World Conference on Science Literacy adopted a set of Shared Recommendations on strengthening scientific literacy and science popularisation. The text recognises that science and technology shape societies and are essential for tackling climate change, public health, food and water security and emerging technologies. It builds on UNESCO’s International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (2024-2033).
The document stresses that people should be participants and knowledge holders, not just recipients of information, and it highlights barriers such as language, gender, disability, geography, misinformation and declining trust in science.
It sets six priority areas: equitable access and inclusion; dialogue, participation and informed decision-making; trust, ethical communication and countering misinformation; capacity, professional development and enabling policies, including public dialogue on AI; context-sensitive assessment; and regional and international cooperation.
Participants welcomed a global Community of Practice and invited UNESCO to work toward a co-created Global Call to Action. The recommendations are non-binding and create no legal or financial obligations.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000399634
