To build scientific capacities, UNESCO is fostering the establishment of high-quality web-based science courses, open online contents and databases as well as mobile learning programmes. These tools allow students, teachers and the general public to conveniently access high-level science knowledge that is essential to empower and engage them into science.

Quality basic sciences education is an indispensable lever for innovation, conducive to any sustainable development. It is based on institutional and human capacity building, through the creation of centres of excellence, and on the international networking generated by scientific platforms such the Human Variome Project (HVP). These activities also help to fight brain-drain and strengthen each country’s abilities to sustain high-quality trainings to young generations (through teachers’ training).

UNESCO provides exciting opportunities for the public and schools to discover and experience many aspects of science, including its applications in daily-life, its relevance on societal and environmental concerns. Information about the impact of scientific research on specific issues is being made accessible - including local and global trends and perspectives on science for sustainable development in different parts of the world, such as solutions and opportunities offered in the African context.

We must celebrate and give greater visibility to the achievements of women and girls in science, such as Prof Maryam Mirzakhani, who is the first woman to receive the prestigious Fields Medal in Mathematics this year. The IYCr2014 was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the achievements of women crystallographers such as Dorothy Hodgkin, who synthetized several bio-molecules (insulin, penicillin, vitamin B12, etc.), and Rosalind Franklin, who contributed to the discovery of the crystal structure of DNA. Efforts are put to render science inclusive to girls worldwide, especially in Africa.