World Federation of Scientific Workers

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World Federation of Scientific Workers
Formation20–21 July 1946
Founded atLondon
Headquarters265 av. de Paris, 93000 Montreuil-sous-Bois, France – Métro Porte de Montreuil
Location
  • Paris, France
President
 Jean-Paul Lainé and Elies Molins
Website fmts-wfsw.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The World Federation of Scientific Workers (WFSW) is a non-governmental international organization, an official partner of UNESCO. It was founded in 1946 at the initiative of very high level scientific personalities and a British Trade Union, the British Association of Scientific Workers.

Contents

The existence of the WFSW constitutes above all a call to the entire scientific community to contribute to placing science and technology at the service of the well-being of mankind. This is why the WFSW is a group of either professional or trade unionist organizations and of individual scientific personalities. The WFSW became more a group of organizations of this type than one of individual scientific personalities. By acting together with its affiliated organizations to obtain a Recommendation by UNESCO in 1974 on Science and Scientific Researchers, updated on Novembers 2017, the WFSW helped enable scientists to conduct emancipated professional activity.

Today scientific knowledge has become decisive in most human activities. Scientific workers, men and women, whether they are researchers, teachers, engineers or technicians, are increasingly challenged about their responsibility for the impact of their knowledge and research on the future of society and sustainability of its development. Faced with the feeling that science is all-powerful in both a positive and negative sense, we assert that the orientation of the development of society is not a purely scientific matter. Science alone is powerless to fight against poverty, inequalities, hunger, wars, the destruction of natural resources, threats to the environment. The most vital factor is the will of the peoples, the political will of the established powers.

Science, scientific research, the use of discoveries, innovation are all placed, like the rest of the economy, under the domination of the market, in particular the world financial market. Scientific workers aspire to be freed from this burden while at the same time wishing to respond to the needs and questions of mankind. They feel the need to act in accordance with their ethics. While respecting academic freedom and individual responsibility, the scientific community, civil society, and more broadly all citizens should participate in defining priorities. This is a democratic demand.

This is the meaning that the WFSW gives to the idea of social responsibility. It is in this framework that the WFSW engages in struggles for peace and disarmament, solidarity between peoples, social and sustainable development, and for a world economic order.

The WFSW maintains relations with all the NGOs concerned by the social role of science. (https://fmts-wfsw.org/aboutus/?lang=en)

History

The WFSW was founded at a conference in London held on 20–21 July 1946 at the initiative of the British Association of Scientific Workers. The original conference was attended by 18 organisations, representing 14 countries. [1]

The WFSW was accused of toeing the Soviet line during the Cold War (but there is no indication of the source of these accusations). At the time of the Tito–Stalin split the Yugoslav affiliate was expelled from the Federation. During the Korean War it supported the Communist Chinese forces. The Federation protested against restrictions on the free exchange of scientific information or the movement of scientists by the withholding of visas or passports by Western countries, but never by Communist ones. Likewise, the WFSW spoke out against American, British and French nuclear testing, but not against Soviet nuclear testing. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the World Federation of Scientific Workers mobilised its members to send telegrams to John F. Kennedy and the United Nations condemning the quarantine of Cuba, however they never mentioned the presence of nuclear missiles on the island, nor was any protest sent to Nikita Khrushchev. After a series of Soviet nuclear tests in the early 1960s, the president of the Federation wished to protest, and threatened to resign from the organisation, but was over-ruled. That same year the British and French affiliates also threatened to leave if statements kept on being issued without their approval. The WFSW toned down its rhetoric in order to keep its two most important Western members. [1]

During the Vietnam War the Federation condemned American aggression and accused the US of breaking international agreements and using biological and chemical weapons. The 1966 Executive Council meeting in East Berlin adopted a "Scientists Statement on Vietnam" signed by 13 scientists – including 9 Nobel Prize winners – calling for financial aid to for laboratories, scientific equipment and scientific books for Hanoi University. [2]

The WFSW was also affected by the Sino-Soviet split. In 1963 a "Peking center of the World Federation of Scientific Workers" was founded. While it claimed to be an Asian regional branch of the Federation, it was in fact a rival to it. The Peking WFSW held an "International Scientific Symposium" in 1964 and a "Summer Symposium on Physics" on 23–31 July 1966 which was held exclusively for physicists from Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America and drew participants from 33 countries. In September 1966 the Executive Council at Varna established a rival committee for scientific organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. [3]

Organization

The Associations highest body is the general assemble which meets every two to three years. Between meetings of the assembly the organisation is run by the executive council and in between meeting of that body by the bureau. [4] The Executive Council consisted of 27 members of whom 17 were elected on an individual basis at the general assembly, and ten by regional organisations. The WFSW bureau consisted of the president, vice-presidents, treasurer, the Executive Councils' chairman and vice-chairmen, the chairmen of the editorial board (who also had to be a member of the council) and the head of the regional centers. Further officials – the secretary general, assistant secretary general and five honorary assistant secretaries – are appointed and participate in the work of the bureau with a voice, but no vote. The Executive Council also elects a 16-member editorial board. [5]

The headquarters of the organisation have historically been in London. In 1966 it was located at 40 Goodge Street London, W1, while the secretary general operated out of an office at 10 rue Vaquelin, Paris 5. [6] The headquarters have been moved to France and are now at 265 av. de Paris, 93000 Montreuil-sous-Bois, France – Métro Porte de Montreuil. [7]

The WFSW tried to set up regional centers and hold regional meetings. The first regional meeting was at New Delhi in 1955, followed by Prague in 1956, Paris in 1957 and Cambridge, England in 1961. By 1968 only two regional centers had been established – at New Dehlin and at Cairo. [8]

Presidents

Presidents of the WFSW have included: [7]

General Assemblies

The WFSW has held the following assemblies:

Beginning with the Helsinki assembly in 1957, each conference was held in conjunction with a scientific symposium on a particular subject. [3]

Members

Red areas have an affiliate or co-operating organisations. WFSWmembers.png
Red areas have an affiliate or co-operating organisations.

The Federation included affiliated organisations and individual corresponding members. In 1966, there were affiliated organisation in 23 countries and corresponding members in 24 countries in which there were no affiliated groups. [3]

Current affiliated organisations include: [9]

Other organisations the WFSW relationships with include [7]

Publications

Periodicals

The WFSW published a magazine, Scientific World, in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Czech. [10] Scientific World began as a twice yearly publication in 1957, became a quarterly in 1959 and ceased publication in 1993. [11] The WFSW also published an irregular Bulletin in English, French, German and Russian covering organizational news and was only available to members. [6] [10]

"Science and Mankind"

Beginning in 1957 the WFSW published a series of pamphlets called "Science and Mankind":

Other publications

"Science in the Service of Peace"

In addition to its print publications, the WFSW also produced a program "Science in the service of peace" in conjunction with the International Radio and Television Organisation which was broadcast from Eastern Europe. [5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hoover Institution Yearbook on international communist affairs 1966 Stanford, Calif., Hoover Institution Press. p.507
  2. ↑ Hoover Institution Yearbook on international communist affairs 1968 Stanford, Calif., Hoover Institution Press. pp.737-8
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Yearbook on international communist affairs 1966 pp.510–1, 518
  4. ↑ Yearbook on international communist affairs 1966 p.508
  5. 1 2 3 Yearbook on international communist affairs 1966 p.509
  6. 1 2 Yearbook on international communist affairs 1966 p.510
  7. 1 2 3 4 "World Federation of Scientific Workers PDF brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Hoover Institution Yearbook on international communist affairs 1968 Stanford, Calif., Hoover Institution Press. p.737
  9. ↑ Affiliated organizations. There are two, not entirely congruous, lists of affiliates on their website. The list on the PDF brochure includes all of these affiliated organizations listed on the html page cited here, except Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Ciencia of Cuba, which it listed under "Other organizations we have relationships with". The list of affiliates on the PDF brochure also includes "Vehivavy, Siansia, Fampandrosoana" of Madegascar.
  10. 1 2 Hoover Institution Yearbook on international communist affairs 1968 Stanford, Calif., Hoover Institution Press. p.736
  11. ↑ "CRL | Search Results".
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