UNESCO supports 4th Congress of Young Earth Sciences Network in Tehran

On 27 August, the 4th YES (Young Earth Sciences) Congress was opened in Tehran. The four-day congress is aimed at young scientists from around the world and focuses on topics, such as: geoscience for society; geology and mineral resources; fundamental geology; environmental and medical geology; climate change and hydrogeology; geohazards and disasters; geoinformatics applications for earth science; geoheritage; and petroleum geosiences, AVA Diplomatic reports.

The YES Network is an international association of early-career geoscientists, who are primarily under the age of 35 years and from universities, geoscience organizations and companies from across the world. The YES Network was formed as a result of the International Year of Planet Earth in 2007. In 2009, the YES Network organized its first international Congress at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing, under the patronage of UNESCO.

Speaking at the opening of the 4th Congress in Tehran, UNESCO Representative Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, talked about UNESCO’s important work in geosciences.

“As the only UN agency with a mandate in geosciences, UNESCO has been working for over forty years with the International Union for Geological Sciences to mobilize global cooperation in the Earth sciences through the International Geoscience Programme”, said Ms. Kuisch Laroche. “The Programme brings together scientists from around the world and provides them with seed money to devise and conduct joint international research and to collectively publish the results.”

The UNESCO Representative also spoke about UNESCO’s Global Geoparks, and the addition of Iran’s Qeshm Island to this global network of sites with landscapes of international geological significance. “The purpose of UNESCO Global Geoparks is to explore, develop and celebrate the links between geological heritage and all other aspects of the area’s heritage. It is about reconnecting human society at all levels to the planet we call home and to celebrate how Earth’s history has shaped every aspect of our lives and societies.”

Finally, Ms. Kuisch Laroche highlighted UNESCO’s work on Geohazard Risk Reduction and called upon the young earth scientists to use their knowledge and network to contribute to UNESCO’s International Platform on Earthquake Early Warning Systems. “We need young scientists like yourselves to contribute to this body of research in order to improve our knowledge and the available technology, which could mark a dramatic improvement in the field of disaster risk reduction”, said the UNESCO Representative.