Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon

16 to 19 September, Lisbon

The Portuguese Presidency hosts the “First World Conference on Research Integrity”, which will take place on 16 to 19 September at the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon. The Conference is organized by the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the North American Office of Research Integrity (ORI) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, together with Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, FCT, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and NATO.

The inaugural session of the Conference will be held on Monday, 17 September, from 09:00 to 10:40, at Auditorium 2, in Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, with the presence of the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, José Mariano Gago, the European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potocnik and the Secretary-General of OECD, Angel Gurría, preceded by an opening speech from Professor Tim Hunt, Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine and researcher of the “Cancer Research UK” and the “European Molecular Biology Organization”, EMBO. The inaugural session will also include a talk by Professor Paul David from Oxford University, United Kingdom, and Stanford University in the United States of America.

The Conference will include plenary and parallel sessions, with the closing planned for Wednesday, 19 September, from 11:20 to 13:00, also in Auditorium 2 in Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, with the presence of Par Omling, President of European Heads of Research Councils, EuroHorcs, and Philippe Busquin, member of the European Parliament and ex-European Commissioner for Research, ending with a speech by Manuel Heitor, Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education.

Ian Halliday, President of the European Science Foundation, Ian Mattaj, Director of European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Xu Guanhua, President of the Chinese Science Academy, M. G. K. Menon, President of the International Indian Centre and Indian ex-Minister of Science, Philip Campbell, Editor-in-Chief of Nature Magazine, Katrina Kelner, Director of AAAS and responsible for the publication of Science Magazine, Christine Boesz, Chief Inspector of the National Science Foundation (NSF), in the USA, Motoyuki Ono, President of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, Larry Bell, Director of Boston’s Science Museum and Paul Caro, from CNRS, France, were prominent among the various foreign guest speakers.

The Conference will also have the presence of national speakers, including Professor Alexandre Quintanilha, Director of IBMC of the University of Oporto and Secretary of the Council of Associated Laboratories, Professor João Lobo Antunes, from Lisbon’s University and President of the Portuguese Academy of Medicine, Professor Fernando Lopes da Silva, from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and Professor Carlos Fiolhais from the University of Coimbra. João Sentieiro, the President of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Luis Magalhães, President of the Agency for the Knowledge Society (UMIC), João Caraça, Science Director of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, António Coutinho, Director of Gulbenkian Institute for Science and President of Lisbon’s Academy for Medical Science and Ana Noronha, from the National Agency for Scientific Culture and Technology, Ciência Viva, will be also participating.

This is the first global forum dedicated to the theme “scientific integrity”, where approximately 300 delegates from various countries around the world will participate, including directors from the main scientific laboratories on an international level, financing agencies, publishers of the most important scientific magazines, representatives of professional societies and internationally known academics.

The issues related to scientific integrity have been emerging during the last few years and have become a critical matter for national and international research policies. The key questions to be discussed at the Conference include public policies to reinforce scientific institutions, as well as stimulating measures to promote scientific and technological culture. The discussion will also include factors that affect the behaviour and integrity of researchers and education in science, for responsible research behaviour.

Further information and a detailed programme can be found at : http://www.esf.org/conferences/researchintegrity