Promoting International Scientific Cooperation: the Role of Scientific Societies

Abstract

Scientific collaboration yields many advantages, especially in fields that require interdisciplinary approaches, as it fosters the sharing of knowledge and resources and is essential for the implementation of complex projects. The concept of scientific internationalism emerged around the 1900s, emphasizing that science surpasses national boundaries and promotes global peace and collaboration. International scientific cooperation is halted by geopolitical tensions and conflicts, such as World War II and the Cold War. Nevertheless, many examples show that scientific collaboration can surpass conflicts and bring scientific and society development, such as in the cases of the Tick-borne Encephalitis vaccine, the Apollo-Soyuz test project and more recently the international endeavour for COVID-19 vaccine development. In this contest, UN and WHO have an imporant role to promote peace and scientific cooperation, examplified by the 16th Sustainable Development Goal, to “Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies”. This review aims to assess the available literature regarding international scientific collaboration and the role of scientific societies in promoting scientific cooperation. Scientific societies have proved to be pivotal in bridging cultures and promoting international cooperation. Apart from the historical example of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, which showed an important cooperation between Western and Eastern countries during the Cold War, the scientific society European Biotechnology thematic network Association (EBTNA) has international scientific cooperation as one of its critical goals. Scientific societies such as EBTNA will be pivotal in promoting international scientific cooperation and fostering international activities and scientific research.