Location: Maastricht, The Netherlands
Date: 7 - 8 March, 2006
Hosted by: United Nations University Institute for New Technologies

Context: This meeting explored whether the L20, if it were convened, should focus on matters concerned with science and technology for development. As written in Martin Bell's background paper "selected parts of the 'S&T for development' agenda could be usefully addressed by an L20 mechanism. The vast majority of required action can only be undertaken in developing countries themselves, and an L20-type body could do little more than offer exhortations and generalizations (probably misleading) about these areas for local action. Another large raft of issues do call for action at an international level, but in many cases such action is already undertaken by existing organisations and programmes (both multilateral and bilateral), and there may be little scope among those for effective value-added by an L20-type initiative.

S&T can be mobilized for economic development and help narrow the knowledge divide, which has left people behind. Constraints include lack of precision in the relevant concepts and language and lack of political influence by the S&T "lobby" There are several mechanisms or paths to avoid- some insisted that vertical funds like the GEF won't sell. Proposals must embed crosscutting issues like migration, gender, intellectual property and horizon scanning. Leaders will need a theme based approach related to accepted problems. Opportunistic timing is critical - the key is having the preparatory work available to pull from an inventory to capture the moment - a classic example being the Auckland APEC Summit and the East Timor issue. Perhaps critical issues like vaccine pricing and access to medicines for the "next SARS". (extracted from the meeting report)

Papers

Mario Cervantes and Andrea Goldstein		International Mobility of Talent:: The Challenge for Europe
Shirley M. Malcom		Making the Case for Gender
Geoffrey Oldham		Elements of L20 Communique on International Collaboration in Science and Technology
Francisco Sagasti		The Bahai 2006 Declaration of the Leaders of the Group of 20 on: Knowledge and Innovation for Development
Luc Soete		The Changing Nature of Innovation and its Implications for Different Types of Developing Countries
Sandy Thomas		Science and Technology for Development and L20 Leaders Intellectual Property
Dato Ir. Lee Yee-Cheong		Capacity Building for Science, Technology and Innovation in Developing Countries

Backgrounders

Martin Bell		Background Discussion paper for the L20 Workshop
Gordon Smith (Centre for Global Studies, Canada), & Ramesh Thakur, (Senior Vice Rector, United Nations University)		Outcomes of Furthering Science & Technology Conference