Yuriy Polyuhovich, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, participated in the ministerial dialogue, with the active organizational assistance of the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine to UNESCO.

The objective of the meeting was to discuss the important role of international scientific cooperation and increased investment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay called on the governments of the countries to enhance scientific cooperation and integrate open science into their research programmes to prevent and mitigate the effects of the global crisis.

The current pandemic has proven that scientific research plays a critical role in counteracting the threats posed by COVID-19. In this regard, the international scientific community has mobilized its efforts, notably by sharing and making universally available research results and an unprecedented reform of their work methods (more than 1,000 research articles have been published in open access in response to WHO’s appeal, international research consortiums were established in a matter of days allowing for rapid progress including the sequencing of the virus’s DNA over just a few weeks).

Regarding open science, the agenda of the meeting featured:

• The pooling of knowledge, measures to support scientific research, and the reduction of the knowledge gap among countries;
• The mobilization of decision makers, researchers, innovators, publishers and civil society to allow free access to scientific data, research findings, educational resources and research facilities;
• The Reinforcement of links between science and policy decisions, to meet societal needs;
• The opening of science to society while borders are closed.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, an active participation of the Ukrainian side in the UNESCO initiatives will contribute to fruitful cooperation with the international scientific community in the frames of preventing the threats posed by COVID-19 and overcoming the global crisis.