TWAS works throughout the developing world, and its members conduct research in vitally important fields such as agriculture, biotechnology, urban planning and space science. But while the fields are technical and the challenges profound, research ultimately is a human endeavour: Scientists, young and old, men and women, working to improve human lives in every nation and every community.

The human spirit of science in the developing world is captured in an engaging new film about TWAS, directed by Italian filmmaker Nicole Leghissa. TWAS Executive Director Romain Murenzi presented the film last month at the Science Days celebration in Stockholm organized by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). 

Over the span of 10 minutes, the film offers a bright, uptempo summary of Academy's mission and impact, then surveys the work undertaken in Kenya by three scientists in the TWAS community.

"What I wanted to convey is that science is not something that only happens in a lab," Leghissa said. "Science is for a mother and her child, science shapes the life in a crowded Indian street, science is in the blue sky. Science is everywhere, in all our lives.

"TWAS understands this, and its work supports scientific research around the world ­– and especially in the developing world, where science has so much potential to give people better lives."

Leghissa has produced a number of films for TWAS and the International Centre of Theoretical Physics. Among them are "Seeds of Science", a 2013 documentary that has been shown on Italian television, at a TWAS General Meeting in Argentina, and at diplomatic and educational events.

To see more films, visit the TWAS channel on YouTube.

Edward W. Lempinen