S4D4C’s 1st Global Meeting took place in Madrid

A truly global community of science diplomacy scholars and practitioners met on the occasion of S4D4C’s 1st Global Meeting, which took place 12-14 December at the headquarters of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in Madrid. Speakers and attendants of the conference came not only from Europe, but also from Canada, China, India, Korea, México, Panama and the U.S. The group gathered to explore the state-of-play in global science diplomacy in view of the potential for EU science diplomacy beyond 2020.

In his opening address, the Spanish Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Pedro Duque, illustrated the Spanish commitment to science diplomacy referring to the work of the Ministry and affiliated agencies like S4D4C’s partner institution and event host FECYT, the Foundation for Science and Technology. AECID Director Aina Calvo pointed to the relevance of science diplomacy from a development cooperation and foreign policy perspective.