Summary:

Celebration of the 50th anniversary of the “Rencontres de Moriond”
International Workshop on “Fundamental Science and Society”

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the prestigious “Rencontres de Moriond”, the Ministry for science and technology of Vietnam, the Popular Committee of the Province of Binh Dinh, the “Rencontres du Vietnam” and the “Rencontres de Moriond” are organizing a workshop on the theme “Fundamental Science and Society”, with the high patronage of UNESCO and the support and labels of the International Solvay Institutes and CERN. The workshop benefits from the sponsorship of H.E. Vu Duc Dam, Vice Prime minister and H.E. Nguyen Quân, Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam. The two-day event will take place in Vietnam, at the new International Conference Center in Quy Nhon, during the first week of July 2016 (7 and 8 of July).

The “Rencontres de Moriond” have played an instrumental role in the development of High Energy Physics in the last 50 years. The new International Conference Center in Quy Nhon, where their sister activity “Rencontres du Vietnam” take place, constitutes a focal intellectual center in South-East Asia devoted to high-level education and curiosity-driven research, in the heart of one of the most dynamical and future-oriented regions on the planet. The topics addressed by the workshop are relevant to all fundamental sciences. This will be reflected in the invitation of leading figures not only from physics, but also from mathematics, economics, chemistry and biology.

Two important ideas would be emphasized:
– Fundamental science transforms our world with the changes it brings, and its impact on the technological revolutions such as electronics, lasers, web…, on sustainable development in green chemistry, understanding climate change, energy, and on health, e.g. genetics, imaging…, and on all societal applications which originate from it, such as cellular phones, GPS….
– Fundamental science – and large projects in particular – is organized around societal models which are based on collaboration and competition (“coopetition”), open mindedness, sharing and friendship among peoples, of which one brilliant example is CERN, but also the Rencontres de Moriond. These models are relevant to developed societies which tend to isolate themselves in individualism, relativism, even sectarianism, but also to developing societies, because they participate in this development, contribute to peace and to common values, the bases for humanity.

The workshop will be structured around round tables addressing various historical, current and future issues relevant to fundamental science and society, with an opening up towards Asian countries, in particular towards developing countries around Vietnam and the themes proper to them.

• • DAY 1 : Science for the progress of knowledge and for development, with presentations and round tables on the role of fundamental research in technological revolutions on the one hand, and in sustainable development on the other hand.

• • DAY 2 :  Science for peace with presentations and round tables on the themes of excellence, diversity and of their underlying value on the one hand, and of links between fundamental and applied research in the framework of open innovation on the other hand.

High-level representatives of the Vietnamese government have confirmed their participation in the opening session. This event will be an opportunity for scientists to interact with decisions makers and representative of private economy.

For the Steering Committee:

Etienne Augé,
Maurizio Bona,
Michel Spiro,
Jean Tran Thanh Van
and Marc Henneaux (Advisor)