The Muscat Declaration on Global Science

The Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue, which takes place on 27–28 January, with pre-event workshops on 26 January, is the segment of the ISC General Assembly focusing on science. The Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue was held alongside with the 2025 ISC General Assembly and both events are hosted by the ISC Member in Oman, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation of the Sultanate of Oman.

The International Science Council’s global membership brings together 250 international scientific unions and associations, national and regional scientific organizations, including academies, government agencies and ministries, research and science councils, international scientific federations and societies, young scientific organizations.

This global event provided a unique forum for scientists, scholars, policymakers and international organizations, leaders from big technology enterprises, science, policy and innovation organizations and ISC’s member organizations. The event delegates reached up to 450 including Nobel prize winners, senior researchers of top university and research centers from across the globe to engage in discussions on advancing science as a global public good.

Over the two days, sessions addressed global priorities, including Science systems and science futures covering issues around current and anticipated developments in science, including AI and other emerging technologies, open science, research assessment, science publishing and transdisciplinary science; Science and just transformations to sustainability focusing on the role of science in the social and environmental transformations needed to move towards sustainability;  Science and society addressing issues around trust in science, the use of science in and for diplomacy, social cohesion and inequalities, and gender equality.

On 26 January, the pre-event workshops covered topics including Freedom and Responsibility in Science, Science is Social: Increasing the role and visibility of the social sciences, Leveraging the ISC membership to strengthen science advice to policy, Data policy and skills in a rapidly changing world

Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue included a large number of plenary and parallel sessions: Rethinking international science collaboration in today’s world; Transforming science: open science, research assessment, science publishing; Ocean science for sustainability; The changing context for science diplomacy; Artificial intelligence and its impact on science systems; The Decade of Science for Sustainability: The post-2030 agenda; From Barriers to Breakthroughs: Shaping the Future of Gender Equality in Science; Science education for our future – building capacity for global challenges; Polar science and the International Polar Year; Social cohesion and inequality.

Delegates participated in the events

One of the specific outcomes of this meeting was the Muscat Declaration on Global Science. This important document, approved by all member organizations. The declaration emphasizes science as a global public good and calls for equitable access to knowledge. It advocates for the collaborative and transformative role of science to address global challenges. The declaration highlights the need for stronger global cooperation, scientific transparency, and responsible innovation. It also underscores the importance of ensuring that scientific advances benefit everyone, with particular focus on overcoming inequalities and addressing pressing issues like climate change, global health, and sustainability. Moreover, it stresses the need for policies that encourage openness, equity, and accountability in science, especially regarding emerging technologies

The Declaration marks a collective effort from global scientific leaders to ensure that science serves the global community, pushing for systems that foster shared knowledge and collaboration for the benefit of all people. The Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue and ISC General Assembly underscored the power of international scientific collaboration in shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future.

The following is fullMuscat Declaration on Global ScienceDeclaration

Recalling that the vision of the ISC is of science as a global public good, meaning that scientific knowledge and its practice should be universally considered as shared resources from which everyone should be able to benefit,

Recognizing the diversity of ambitions, challenges, opportunities and approaches in science globally, the growing disparities in research capacity and quality of education between countries and regions, and the need to address these gaps to foster global progress,

Recalling that to realize its vision, the mission of the ISC is to provide a robust, effective, and trustworthy global voice for science,

Considering that the global context in which science is done has changed significantly in the last decade, and that emerging technologies are further changing the paradigms of scientific research,

Noting that in this context, science has a key role to play in promoting social justice, peace, security, and sustainability,

Considering the role of the ISC in strengthening the voice of scientists and their diversity, advancing their freedom and safety, and promoting the right to participate in and benefit from science.

Actionable statements

Participants in the Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue, therefore,

Defend and promote the free and responsible practice of science by:

Advancing the right to participate in and benefit from science and, more broadly, upholding the role of science as a global public good

Maintaining cross-border scientific collaboration in times of tensions and crisis

Supporting the protection of science ecosystems and scientists in emergency and conflict settings, with particular attention to displaced scientists

Supporting, the free, safe, ethical, inclusive, accountable and equitable conduct of science,

Stimulate and support international, inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations in scientific research and scholarship on issues of global concern, including by:

Actively supporting the UN International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development as a tool to advance the sustainability agenda

Mobilizing for the International Polar Year 2032–33 and the UN Decade for Cryospheric Sciences

Taking a holistic approach that integrates all formal and applied sciences (natural, medical, social, humanities, engineering sciences) as necessary in addressing these complex challenges

Encouraging the pursuit of research on inequality and social cohesion, including gaps where science can play an effective role

Calling upon funding organizations, philanthropic entities, and leading scientific institutions worldwide to take proactive steps in supporting under-resourced regions by investing in capacity-building initiatives

Working collectively to develop practical solutions to prevent or reduce pollution and achieve the vision of zero-emissions,

Contribute to the fair evolution of science systems, in the context of emerging technologies and global inequalities, including by:

Engaging with science and research funders, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders to provide expert guidance on the transformation and reform of science systems (in, for example, open science, research assessment, and science publishing) and the enhancement of their transparency, efficiency, inclusion and integrity,

Promoting a transformation in the higher education institutional environment by equipping future scientists globally with the necessary transdisciplinary knowledge, tools, and skills to tackle urgent and complex societal and environmental issues,

Critically evaluating the potential impacts of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies on multiple facets of science and education systems,

Ensuring that scientific data is generated, stored, managed and accessed in a way that facilitates the address of cross-domain grand challenges,

Supporting academies and associations of young scientists,

Continue advocating for the value of science and promoting evidence-based understanding and decision-making at all levels,

Promote capacity-building initiatives, appropriate training, and adoption of principles and models to strengthen science’s role in the multilateral system,

Promote and assist the use of science diplomacy to advance the common good and address global challenges,

Advocate for the growth and maintenance of investment in international science programmes and free and open knowledge sharing,

Encourage the contribution of scientific research and innovation to the goals of global peace, human well-being, planetary stewardship, and global sustainability,

Reiterate the importance of improving the representation of women scientists and underrepresented groups in the governance of scientific organizations and in science endeavours in general,

Conclude that science is a universal endeavour that can act as a positive force to bridge divides, foster trust, and catalyse collective action on shared global challenges at multiple levels.