Hand-in-Scan – Castle Garden Bazaar
Csaba HANKÓ, director of sales & marketing (Hand-in-Scan)
Co-organizing the international conference, the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, a Government institution coordinating Hungary’s RDI policy and research financing, showcased some success stories from the evolution of Hungarian innovation to about 500 participants visiting Budapest’s Castle Garden Bazaar on November 6, 2015.
“Scientists have a responsibility not only to investigate global challenges faced by the world but also to suggest potential answers to these challenges. Politicy-makers need to take science based decisions while being aware of the potential consequences”, József Pálinkás, President of the NRDI Office highlighted in his opening speech. It all calls for meetings and conferences similar to this one to provide an inspiring environment enabling science to really fuel social, political and business innovation processes.
The event organized by the NRDI Office showcased to an international audience how the great legacy of Hungarian innovation still lives on today. We often take pleasure and pride in the achievements of our world-famous Hungarian scientists and inventors, and we can also present their present-day followers in nearly all fields of science. At an exhibition held in the Castle Garden Bazaar these legacy inventions were paired with their present-day counterparts and showcased to visitors. It is a well-known fact that it was Hungarian doctor and physician Ignác Semmelweis who realized the role of hygiene in clinical disease prevention. It was also Hungarian engineers who developed a hand-scanner that is now used by dozens of hospitals around the world for the same purposes. If you know that the ballpoint pen, the most widely used writing instrument of our days, is a Hungarian invention, you might be curious to see the “writing instrument” of virtual reality which was developed for a 3D environment by a Hungarian student.
During the evening visitors had the opportunity to meet the likes of such innovative talents while walking around and trying out exhibited objects and products of research projects, getting answers to their questions from project representatives being present at the event.
A Nemzeti Kutatási, Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal, mint a hazai kutatás-fejlesztési és innovációs szakpolitikát és a kutatásfinanszírozást koordináló kormányzati intézmény a nemzetközi konferencia társszervezőjeként november 6-án a Várkert Bazárban mintegy 500 résztvevő előtt villantott fel sikertörténeteket a magyar innováció fejlődéséből.
„A tudósok felelőssége, hogy ne csak vizsgálják a világ előtt álló globális kihívásokat, hanem válaszlehetőségeket is kínáljanak. Fontos, hogy a politikusok tudományosan megalapozott döntéseket hozzanak, és legyenek tisztában a lehetséges következményekkel” – emelte ki köszöntőjében házigazdaként Pálinkás József, az NKFI Hivatal elnöke. Emiatt van szükség az ehhez hasonló találkozókra és tanácskozásokra, amelyek inspiráló környezetet nyújtanak ahhoz, hogy a tudomány valóban táplálhassa a társadalmi, politikai és gazdasági innováció folyamatait.
Az NKFI Hivatal által szervezett program a nagy múltú magyar innováció továbbélését mutatta be a konferencia nemzetközi közönségének. Mert sokszor és szívesen büszkélkedünk világraszóló magyar tudósainkkal, feltalálóinkkal, ugyanakkor szinte minden területen fel tudjuk mutatni az ő jelenkori követőiket is. A Várkert Bazár alkalmi kiállításán ezt párba állított példákkal illusztrálva láthatták a résztvevők. Köztudott, hogy Semmelweis ismerte fel a higiéné szerepét a klinikai fertőzések megelőzésében. Magyar mérnökök fejlesztése az a kézszkenner, amelyet már kórházak tucatjai használnak szerte a világon hasonló célra. Ha valaki tudja, hogy napjaink legelterjedtebb íróeszköze, a golyóstoll is magyar találmány, kíváncsi lehet a virtuális valóság „íróeszközére”, amelyet szintén egy magyar diák fejlesztett 3D-s környezetre.
Ilyen és ehhez hasonló innovatív tehetségekkel ismerkedhettek a vendégek az este folyamán, körüljárva, kipróbálva a szóban forgó kutatás vagy termék kiállított eszközeit, kérdéseket téve föl a projekt jelenlévő képviselőinek.
Source/Forrás: www.nkfih.gov.hu
History of World Science Forum
In convening a World Conference on Science for the Twenty-First Century: a New Commitment, from 26 June to 1 July 1999 in Budapest, Hungary, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU), in co-operation with other partners, initiated a unique forum for a much-needed debate between the scientific community and society.
Inspired by the success of the World Conference on Science, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in partnership with UNESCO, ICSU and AAAS established a series of follow-up events called World Science Forum, taking place biennially in Budapest.
During the three days of each Forum by 2015 over 900 scientists, decision-makers from the world of politics, industry, representatives of the civil society and the media express their views on the new challenges facing science in the 21st century. Participants from over 100 countries convene on and around World Science Day, the 10th of November – a day dedicated to science by UNESCO. To commemorate this day, the UNESCO Science Prizes are awarded at World Science Forum.
The first Forum took place between 8-10 November 2003, focusing on “Knowledge and Society”, with the main objective of raising awareness world-wide toward the increasing and novel roles of knowledge and their societal impact.
The second Forum in 2005 on “Knowledge, Ethics and Responsibility” aimed at tackling the ethical aspects of knowledge and the responsibility of scientists and decision-makers in the global society of the 21st Century, while the third Forum in 2007 focused on the topic of “Investing in Knowledge: Investing in the Future” emphasising the importance of knowledge resources in managing the future of the world’s economies and societies.
In 2009 marking the 10th anniversary of World Science Forum series the Forum provided a strategic vision on the future of science as its main title „Knowledge and Future” suggested.
The 2011 event meant the beginning of a new era in the history of World Science Forum. In order to distribute the achievements of this enterprise and to make it a true world event, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences with the consent of UNESCO, ICSU, and AAAS proposed to change the format of WSF so that it is organised on every second occasion in a partner country. With the welcome offer of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences the 2013 World Science Forum was organized in Rio de Janeiro.
The main theme of the 2011 Forum was “The Changing Landscape of Science – Challenges and Opportunities” focusing on the geographical, thematic, and social aspects of some of the most burning issues of science and society. The 2013 Rio de Janeiro World Science Forum investigated the responsibility of scientists and policy makers in the use of „Science for Sustainable Global Development” as the main theme of the 6th Forum anticipated.
In 2015 World Science Forum will return to Budapest with the main theme of “The Enabling Power of Science” to discuss how science contributes to opening new paths for the improvement of human life, business innovation and policy making, before continuing its world-wide tour to Jordan, the country to host the 2017 Forum.
The success of World Science Forum proves that the original idea and intention behind this initiative is becoming a reality. Scientists, politicians, decision-makers and representatives of civil society conducted fruitful dialogue on burning issues affecting the scientific world and society simultaneously, and summed up the common tasks ahead of us. The growing international interest in the World Science Forum shows that there is a growing consensus: World Science Forum has become the leading event of global science policy today.
Source: www.sciforum.hu