FONDAZIONE GIANNINO BASSETTI

Scienza e Governance

The relationships between science and society are at the centre of a European project aimed at building a "knowledge based society" but they also represent an extremely problematic element. The controversies mainly involve the theme of scientific-technological innovation and in particular responsibility taking for innovative choices and their consequences. This debate often runs the risk of finishing in a sterile ideological deadlock between those for or against science. But the contemporary governance of science requires a more complex approach, in which different social voices and different forms of knowledge can give life into new and articulate democratic processes.

Therefore with the intention of promoting a reflection upon the politics and rights of science in Italy, the Bassetti foundation has published an Italian translation of the European report "Taking European Knowledge Society Seriously [1] " through the publishing house Rubbettino Editrice [2]

The report was produced by an expert working group, that with an EU mandate has studied three particular aspects of European science and its governance: 1) how to respond to the widespread problem of the lack of trust of science on the part of European society; 2) how to implement democracy and the involvement of civil society; 3) identify some urgent policy challenges regarding climate change and sustainable development.

The publication of the volume gave the foundation the opportunity to organize a series of events and meetings, introduced and followed up by articles on this site [3] .

Scienza e Governance. La società europea della conoscenza presa sul serio.
By Brian Wynne, Ulrike Felt, Michel Callon, Maria Eduarda Gonçalves, Sheila Jasanoff, Maria Jepsen, Pierre-Benoît Joly, Zdenek Konopasek, Stefan May, Claudia Neubauer, Arie Rip, Karen Siune, Andy Stirling, Mariachiara Tallacchini
With preface by Piero Bassetti and Mariachiara Tallacchini
Rubbettino Editore, 2008 [4]