Speech by President of the Government at "Science and 2030 Agenda" meeting

Moncloa Palace

Minister, Pedro, High Commissioner for 2030 Agenda, dear friends,

Firstly, I would like to thank you in person for your presence here today. You are all busy people, and I imagine you have your agendas full of professional commitments. And that is without forgetting, of course, your personal and family commitments, which I am convinced you must also have, and the fact that you set these aside in order to attend this event clearly shows several things.

The first and most important of these is the commitment you have to both things: to a Spain of knowledge, to Spain through the creation of knowledge. And, secondly, your commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda.

Thank you Teresa, thank you Raquel, thank you Pablo and thank you Rosa, for your testimonies. And I want to make a public "thank you"; I want to acknowledge the work of the minister, and also of Cristina, heading up the 2030 Agenda.

Dear friends,

In January 1931, a prominent Spanish doctor wrote a brief letter from Madrid to his superiors in which he asked for the following, "I wish for 600 pesetas to be deducted each month from the remuneration assigned to me by the board for running the physiology laboratory, to be distributed in the following manner: 150 pesetas for Severo Ochoa de Albornoz; 150 pesetas for Blas Cabrera Sánchez; 150 pesetas for Rafael Méndez Martínez, and 150 pesetas for Francisco Grande Covián. All of them", continued the letter, "are exclusively engaged in research and teaching and none of them exercises the medical profession", ended the letter.

With the passing of time, in 1959, one of these men for whom this meagre stipend was requested, would become a Nobel Medicine Prize-winner, and the rest would be the living history of Spanish science.

The doctor who made this request was called Juan Negrín, and a few years later he would become the President of the Spanish Republic.

His words echo what Spain was and what, to a certain extent, after listening above all to the testimony of Pablo and Teresa - two young scientists accompanying us here - it continues to be today. A country in which scientists depend on the inspiration of a mentor, a man or a woman who is a professor, or simply someone highly committed to science.

A country that lacked the interest to recognise and nurture the talent it hosted, whose scientists had to leave because the country's leaders failed to notice that it is them who shape the very future and improve people's lives.

That letter from Juan Negrín reflects the moral greatness of a man and of a Spain that arrived late, too late, to its rapprochement with science. A country that I believe has learned its lesson, after arriving too late to its rapprochement with science. It may be that the second Nobel Prize for our country in the field of science will depend on the content of that letter.

Today we must be aware or more aware, if indeed possible, of the situation of science and of the urgency with which it must be fostered. That letter also tells us a great deal about the scientific vocation of the pride with which its backers have worked over the course of history, overcoming, firstly, social envy - that always exists, as you know better than me. Much of the progress made by scientists involves questioning knowledge assumed to be unquestionable truths by us all. And secondly, overcoming material limitations, because their advances required more resources as science becomes more refined and more complex.

But as the political leaders of a country, and as a society, we cannot conform, hide behind or profit from this vocation so as avoid not doing our part. Scientists must be scientists, researchers and professionals at the service of science. They should not be heroes who we posthumously thank after epic careers of hardship. And it is in our hands to change that.

Over these nine months, I have been aware of this commitment each day, and if I didn't have it to mind, then the minister was there to remind me of that each day, because, as Pedro recalled, the right to science is a human right contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And because science is essential for the commitments we have taken on as a country, as a society, in complying with the 2030 Agenda. Let's say this loud and clear, we can do nothing regarding the Sustainable Development Goals if we are not unequivocally and resolutely committed to science and innovation.

A commitment that must begin by being felt, and also by its materialisation in the daily lives of you, our scientists. Challenges such as climate change, as was rightly mentioned here by Teresa and Pablo, growing inequality, as Raquel and also Rosa reminded us. And child poverty, something that this government is greatly committed to reducing and eradicating, require two basic cornerstones: a social commitment, and scientific progress. One is useless without the other.

That is why, over recent months, reforms have been undertaken to address the loss of research and teaching talent and thus reverse adverse working conditions. Among other measures, and you are well aware of this, the largest public employment offer in science in recent years has been approved, added to which 1,454 temporary jobs have been made permanent. We are talking about consolidating 10% of the workforce of the public research bodies.

As regards young people, the much-awaited Statute for Scientific Staff in Training has been given the go-ahead which, according to the 2011 Science Act, should have been ready back in 2014; in other words, we have reach this moment but with considerable delay. Young people, by the way, as Pablo rightly mentioned, have already picked up the baton and are at the forefront in such challenges as climate change with "Fridays for future".

And, the administrative functioning of science and research has also been simplified with measures demanded by the research community for some considerable time.

Ladies and gentlemen,

One of the more gratifying moments of these last few months, of this legislature, was to see the Lower House of Parliament unanimously voting to ratify urgent measures on science and technology.

Believe me - I am not revealing a secret by saying this - that it is not easy to forge consensuses such as the one achieved in this field. Politics is not an exact science. And logic is not dictated with the same ease as in your research fields. And don't imagine I don't regret that on some occasions. But this agreement says a great deal about the hopes that Spain has placed in its researchers and in its scientists. In the unanimous respect and consideration that your efforts for society as a whole deserve, and which are represented in the Lower House.

Science and innovation must be State matters, because that is the case for a great many Spanish men and women. It must be so for something that you know better than anyone, namely that great achievements require planning, and time for trial and error.

It may be that the rhythms of science are not the same as those of politics, above all in these times we are living. But precisely because of that, politics must never turn its back on science again. I believe that a great State pact is essential which would allow us to achieve stability in relation to scientific policy. I believe that this is the challenge we are facing, in terms of programmes and, above all, in terms of investment.

At any event, you have my commitment that we will not skimp on our efforts in this regard.

We don't know what the future will be like, but if we know anything it is the tools we will be demanded to use to tackle this and to be able to transform it. Knowledge and innovation will be vital. Well, in fact they already are, without talking about the future. That is why we must make a greater effort in scientific education and training. And not only in science; this knowledge must also be passed on from the labs, centres and universities to companies, hospitals, schools and society as a whole.

Either society as a whole benefits from the achievements of this progress, in other words we make inclusive progress, or we cannot talk about genuine progress.

To close, I would like to share a thought with you. Just look, I am often asked why so many layers of society view certain scientific developments and innovation with apprehension, with mistrust, and even with great fear. This did not happen, or at least not as intensely as now, in industrial revolutions gone by.

Let's think for a moment about the impact of artificial intelligence or robotics. It is true that this will help free us up of many unpleasant activities, that are badly rewarded, and will offer us many opportunities in the fields of medicine and leisure, as Raquel rightly pointed out.

Meanwhile, the debate is monopolised by negative aspects that theoretically lie ahead. And this fourth industrial revolution has an historical trait, which is the thought I would like to share with you at the end of this speech, which is that its emergence has coincided with the hangover of a socio-economic crisis that has left its mark on today's generations. This coincidence in time has led many people to warn of its causality, which is not the case, or at least shouldn't be.

Furthermore, there have been more than a few political leaders if you can call them that, who have successfully exploited this fear in other parts of the planet. That is why speeches flourish that seek to transport us back in time. Pre-scientific speeches, for example, in relation to climate change, which is certainly one.

The so called Arcadia that no-one better than you know never existed. And that is the case for one simple reason, because we would never have left it. No human being would have been tempted to perform research or innovate, or acquire knowledge to achieve a better life for their loved ones and their society.

And hence, we must change this perception, and I believe that this is a task that is pending for those of us who are here today, and we should all be called on to lend a hand, and show with conviction that thanks to science and thanks to knowledge we have more tools, more instruments, more resources than ever before in the history of humanity, with which to solve the challenge that afflict and concern us today. And to convince others that we have more, not less, options than ever before to be successful in this endeavour.

We have more options than ever before to eradicate disease, to bring boys and girls out of poverty, to close the intolerable and persistent gender gap and to make development sustainable through clean energies. In short, to move towards the goals we are called here today for, which are the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

That is why we need you. I believe that we need each other. We need your knowledge, your hard work and also your teaching abilities to tell us and show us how to reach the future and how to bring this to the present for all societies.

This is a task I am aware you already undertake, and to which the minister also referred in his speech, because Spain is also prolific in the spread of these scientific achievements.

I believe that society needs you more than ever. Any government would need you more than ever.

Earlier I said to you that without science there can be no politics worthy of its name, however disparate the pace.

We are united in the fight for the noblest causes of our time, and we are aware that an essential part of this work falls to us. I believe that the time for science is upon us, and that in reality it has always been. It has always been the right time for science.

So, thank you very much for your testimonies and thank you very much for your commitment and presence at this forum, which is the home of all Spanish citizens, but today it is particularly the home of Spanish science.

Thank you.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Non official translation