International Day of Scientific Culture celebrated for the first time in India at Guru Nanak College of Arts, Science and Commerce and National Centre of Science Communicators with an International Conference.
Maharashtra, Mumbai- Guru Nanak College of Arts, Science and Commerce (GNC), Mumbai in association with the National Centre for Science Communicators (NCSC) jointly organized an International Conference on Scientific Culture on 28th September 2021.This Conference was conducted in hybrid mode, with national and international dignitaries present. It was conducted to observe and celebrate International Day of Scientific Culture.
India is the first and the only country to explicitly adopt scientific temper in its constitution. Article 51A (h) was added under the Fundamental Duties which states “it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform.” The term Scientific Temper was first formulated by the first Prime Minister who engineered for a Scientific India.
In the year 2020, seven organizations from Mexico and Costa Rica proposed the establishment of an International Day of Scientific Culture. On September 28th, 2020 (commemorating the date of first broadcast of Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’ Television Series), these and other institutions from several countries participated in this celebration through social media campaigns, virtual conferences, webinars, workshops and more. NCSC along with several other networks and institutions dedicated to education, science and public communication of science from countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia has joined the initiative.
Guru Nanak College of Arts, Science and Commerce, (GNC) Mumbai, was established in 1989 with the objective of imparting higher educational opportunities to the youth of Mumbai. The college offers undergraduate, post graduate and doctoral programs in the Humanities, Science and Commerce-streams.
The National Centre for Science Communicators (NCSC) was established in 1997 with a view to facilitating improvement in the Science and Technology communication in our country.
The conference had a galaxy of speakers such as Padmashri Y.S.Rajan, Stephen Webster, Sarada Srinivasan, Mark Nowacki, Dr. Jennifer Metcalfe, Ennio Candotti, P.Balaram, Ma Platino ,the vaccine expert Prof. Gagandeep Kang FRS and Prof. M.M. Sharma FRS.
Dr A.P Jayaraman Chairman of NCSC said “Most people think that if you are scientist, you are scientifically cultured. Most people who are highly cultured think they are scientifically cultured.”
The conference also had public lectures on cumulative scientific culture and nurturing scientific culture. The conference ended with an aim to inculcate scientific temper amongst the citizens of the country through various initiatives and programs.
Dr. Pushpinder G. Bhatia, Principal GNC and Convener (ICSC) proudly stated that, "We at Guru Nanak College are very happy to be the first educational institution in Asia to launch this day of scientific culture. We hope to engage students in activities that will promote science culture not only within the college but also to the community. Science Culture has to be a part of our daily lives."
Suhas B. Naik-Satam, Convener (ICSC) stated that, “Science Communication is a necessity for the development and well-being of a nation and young minds are the harbingers that will contribute to creation of scientific temper.”