On 12 December 2025, African Ambassadors, senior policymakers, and leading international scientists gathered at UNESCO to discuss a pressing issue: the development of a synchrotron light source for Africa. Although more than 60 synchrotrons operate worldwide, Africa remains the only continent without a dedicated facility, and African researchers currently account for less than 1% of global synchrotron beamtime.
Synchrotrons, often described as giant microscopes, use powerful beams of X-ray, ultraviolet and infrared light to probe the structure of materials at the atomic and molecular scale. Today, they are a cornerstone of modern scientific infrastructure, supporting research across a wide range of fields. The absence of such a facility in Africa has important implications for the continent’s scientific capacity and long-term development.
The meeting led to concrete recommendations for strategies to ensure equitable access to synchrotron facilities in Africa and beyond. But beyond this practical outcome, this gathering also stood as a powerful affirmation of UNESCO’s vision of science, that scientific progress must be inclusive, ethical, and accessible to all.
Connecting science and humanity, a historic mandate
This vision is not new. It dates back to the organization’s creation, when UNESCO was initially conceived without the “S” in its name. In response to calls from several founding Member States, including China, France and the United Kingdom, science was incorporated as a core element of the organization’s mandate, adopted in 1945.
In the aftermath of World War II, and amid deep concern over how scientific advances had been deployed during this period, it was deemed ‘vitally important that scientists remain connected to those who viewed the world in “human” terms,’ as underlined by Ellen Wilkinson, the Minister of Education of the United Kingdom at that time. Consequently, from the outset, UNESCO played a key role in advancing scientific cooperation worldwide.
This commitment first took form in Europe, as research laboratories and institutions began rebuilding after years of conflict. In 1954, UNESCO supported the creation of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which was established to support ‘collaboration among European States in nuclear research of a pure scientific and fundamental character.’ Its work was not to be used for military purposes, and its findings would be accessible to all.
Knowledge, norms, tools and networks: science at UNESCO today
Inclusive, ethical and accessible to all, this vision of science continues to guide UNESCO’s work today. Across its programs, the organization combines knowledge production, standard-setting, capacity-building and international cooperation to ensure that scientific progress benefits all societies, not a select few.
Building on the legacy of CERN, UNESCO has continued to support large-scale scientific cooperation. In 2018, under its auspices, the SESAME Synchrotron was inaugurated in Jordan. Bringing together more than 20 Member States and observers, SESAME contributes to scientific dialogue in the Middle East and beyond, with partners such as Canada, China, the European Union and the United States.
At the same time, UNESCO has maintained a strong focus on the ethical dimensions of scientific progress. Since the 1990s, its World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) and International Bioethics Committee (IBC) have led reflections on emerging challenges, from climate engineering to COVID-19. These deliberations have shaped UNESCO’s normative frameworks, including the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (1997), and more recent Recommendations on the Ethics of AI (2021) and Neurotechnology (2025).
Beyond ethics, UNESCO works to reduce inequalities in access to science itself. Through the Recommendation on Open Science (2021) and advocacy for scientific freedom and the safety of researchers, the organization promotes a global research ecosystem where knowledge is shared openly and responsibly. Initiatives such as LINKS help bridge Indigenous and scientific knowledge systems, while its Women in Science program addresses persistent gender gaps in the field.
UNESCO also mobilizes global scientific networks to address pressing environmental and societal challenges. The Man and the Biosphere Programme and the International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme combine research, conservation and sustainable development across 784 Biosphere Reserves and 229 Global Geoparks worldwide. Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme draws on extensive expert networks to strengthen water science and governance, from groundwater assessment to drought monitoring, at both national and transboundary levels. Complementing these efforts, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission coordinates international cooperation in ocean science to support sustainable ocean management.
Science and UN80
Together, these efforts reflect a common thread running from UNESCO’s founding to the present day, a conviction that science must be anchored in human values, shared across borders, and accessible to all. It is this vision that continues to inform its actions today, from ethics and open science to the question of how Africa can build and benefit from its own synchrotron light source.
Because this vision considers science a shared human endeavor, UNESCO has always understood its scientific mandate in plural terms. Science, or more accurately, the sciences in all their diversity, are therefore central to the organization’s identity. As Director-General Khaled El-Enany has observed, ‘we are ocean sciences, natural sciences, technology and innovation, ethics, humanities and social sciences.’
As the United Nations system embarks on the UN80 process to strengthen impact and efficiency, UNESCO is determined to uphold its scientific mandate. It is precisely this holistic approach that allows the organization to respond effectively to today’s interconnected challenges, from climate disruption and biodiversity loss to ecosystem and geodiversity conservation, water security, and ocean governance.