Contents
Part 1: About CERN
Part 2: About Science Gateway
Part 3: About Fondation Botnar
Part 4: About Low and Middle Income countries (LMICs)
CERN
About CERN
CERN[1] helps uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. They do this by providing a unique range of particle accelerator facilities to researchers, to advance the boundaries of human knowledge.
What are CERN’s goals?
Beyond science, CERN also aims to:
- Be a politically neutral voice for science, advocating investment in fundamental research and evidence-based policy;
- Build further links with industry in terms of the transfer of knowledge from CERN to industry;
- Train a new generation of scientists and engineers;
- Inspire and nurture scientific awareness in all citizens.
What is CERN's mission?
The Laboratory, established in 1954, has become a prime example of international collaboration.
CERN's mission is to:
- Provide a unique range of particle accelerator facilities that enable research at the forefront of human knowledge;
- Perform world-class research in fundamental physics;
- Unite people from all over the world to push the frontiers of science and technology, for the benefit of all.
CERN Science Gateway
CERN's new flagship project for science education and outreach
About CERN Science Gateway
As part of CERN’s mission to educate and engage the public in science, and to share knowledge and technology with society, CERN is launching the Science Gateway, a new hub for scientific education and outreach. The purpose of the project is to create a hub of scientific education and culture to inspire younger generations with the beauty of science. Aimed at engaging audiences of all ages (~5 to 105+ years!), the Science Gateway will include inspirational exhibition spaces, laboratories for hands-on scientific experiments for children and students from primary to high-school level, and a large amphitheatre to host science events for experts and non-experts alike.
Science Gateway will be an integral part of the CERN site in Geneva and stand alongside the visit circuit to the research facilities.
CERN attracts more visitors every year (136 000 visitors in 2017) where CERN receives over 300 000 with 60 percent being high-school students from across the world. All the education and training activities are over-subscribed. This is a clear sign of the great interest in science and technology and the key role that CERN plays in inspiring the younger generations especially.
Science Gateway will highlight the crucial role that science can play in:
- Pushing back the frontiers of human knowledge (the importance of fundamental research);
- Driving technology and innovation societal benefits and impact on people’s everyday lives;
- Promoting peaceful collaboration between the peoples of the world.
Science Gateway is an ambitious project for education, training and outreach targeting the general public of all ages.
Science Gateway is also a source of inspiration for the general public, that helps nurture passion for scientific knowledge, and encourages young people to embark upon careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Fondation Botnar
About the foundation
Fondation Botnar[2] is a Swiss philanthropic foundation working to improve the health and wellbeing of young people living in cities around the world. Advocating for the inclusion of youth voices and the equitable use of AI and digital technology, the foundation invests in and supports innovative programs and research, and brings together actors from across sectors to create dialogue and partnerships.
Fondation Botnar’s headquarters are based in Basel, Switzerland, home of the life sciences. Their work in Switzerland is based on cutting-edge research and digital related policy conversations.
Focus of the foundation
Fondation Botnar works to enable opportunities and platforms that put the perspectives of young people at the core of their work. Through their funding and support, they support programs, projects and research that include and treat young people with trust, give them the necessary space to contribute to work that affects them, and be treated as equal partners at every stage of the process.
Goal of the foundation
The main goal of Fondation Botnar is to transform cities by creating inclusive urban environments and systems that are truly fit and ready to support the health and wellbeing of young people who live in them. Fondation Botnar champions and invests in the transformational power of AI and digital technology to create inclusive cities, always ensuring they are being built and deployed responsibly and equitably, with human rights at their centre. By striving to include young people as equal partners at every stage, Fondation Botnar works to create opportunities and platforms for them to take an active role in shaping the future of the city systems that support their health and wellbeing. The focus of the foundation is on three key areas: cities fit for young people, AI and digital for an equitable future, and meaningful youth participation.
Geographical focus of the foundation
Fondation Botnar only fund projects in low- and middle-income countries[3], with a strong focus on the following countries: Romania, Tanzania, Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Senegal, India (Odisha or Rajasthan), Morocco, Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam — with a specific interest in projects that focus on emerging urban environments as well as on AI and digital solutions.
The selection of priority countries is based on the following criteria:
- Children and young people’s needs with regards to health and wellbeing
- Digital networking and innovation preparedness
- Government preparedness for sustainable implementation and scaling of proven solutions
- Influence of the country on the region
- Special attention is given to medium-sized, rapidly growing cities (“secondary cities”)
Long term outcomes of the foundation
Low Middle Income Countries
What are LMICs?
LMICs or “Low and Middle Income Countries” means the countries identified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (or “OECD”) as having low-income or middle-income economies, as may be updated from time-to-time by the OECD. The World Bank classifies the world's economies into four groups, based on gross national income per capita: high, upper-middle, lower-middle, and low income countries. Lower middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $1,046 and $4,095.
Today, more than half of the world’s population is under the age of 30, with 90% of them living in low- and middle-income countries. Despite being the largest generation of young people in history, their basic human rights to representation and participation are not being met, often left out of decision making and without the opportunity to drive changes in the city systems they live in — especially within marginalised groups.
Education in Low and Middle Income Countries
According to the World Bank report Learning for All - Education Strategy 2020, far fewer children in developing countries are now out of school compared to the previous decade, thanks to more effective education and development policies and sustained national investments. The number of out-of-school children at primary school fell from 106 million in 1999 to 68 million in 2008. Even in the poorest countries, average enrollment rates at the primary level have surged above 80 percent and completion rates, above 60 percent. Between 1991 and 2007, the ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary education in the developing world improved from 84 to 96 percent, with even larger gains in the Middle East and North Africa and in South Asia. Governments, civil society organisations (CSOs), communities, and private enterprises have contributed to this progress by building more schools and classrooms and recruiting teachers at unprecedented levels.
Annex 1
List of Low and Middle Income Countries
This is a list of countries with low-income or middle-income economies. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) compiles this information and revises it every three years.
|
Afghanistan |
Haiti |
Saint Helena |
|
Albania |
Honduras |
Samoa |
|
Algeria |
India |
São Tomé and Príncipe |
|
Angola |
Indonesia |
Senegal |
|
Antigua and Barbuda |
Iran |
Serbia |
|
Argentina |
Iraq |
Sierra Leone |
|
Armenia |
Jamaica |
Solomon Islands |
|
Azerbaijan |
Jordan |
Somalia |
|
Bangladesh |
Kazakhstan |
South Africa |
|
Belarus |
Kenya |
South Sudan |
|
Belize |
Kiribati |
Sri Lanka |
|
Benin |
Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
Saint Lucia |
|
Bhutan |
Kosovo |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
|
Bolivia |
Kyrgyzstan |
Sudan |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Lao People's Democratic Republic |
Suriname |
|
Botswana |
Lebanon |
Syrian Arab Republic |
|
Brazil |
Lesotho |
Tajikistan |
|
Burkina Faso |
Liberia |
Tanzania |
|
Burundi |
Libya |
Thailand |
|
Cabo Verde |
North Macedonia |
Timor-Leste |
|
Cambodia |
Madagascar |
Togo |
|
Cameroon |
Malawi |
Tokelau |
|
Central African Republic |
Malaysia |
Tonga |
|
Chad |
Maldives |
Tunisia |
|
China (People's Republic of) |
Mali |
Turkey |
|
Colombia |
Marshall Islands |
Turkmenistan |
|
Comoros |
Mauritania |
Tuvalu |
|
Democratic Republic of Congo |
Mauritius |
Uganda |
|
Congo |
Mexico |
Ukraine |
|
Costa Rica |
Micronesia |
Uzbekistan |
|
Côte d'Ivoire |
Moldova |
Vanuatu |
|
Cuba |
Mongolia |
Venezuela |
|
Djibouti |
Montenegro |
Vietnam |
|
Dominica |
Montserrat |
Wallis and Futuna |
|
Dominican Republic |
Morocco |
West Bank and Gaza Strip |
|
Ecuador |
Mozambique |
Yemen |
|
Egypt |
Myanmar |
Zambia |
|
El Salvador |
Namibia |
Zimbabwe |
|
Equatorial Guinea |
Nauru |
|
|
Eritrea |
Nepal |
|
|
Eswatini |
Nicaragua |
|
|
Ethiopia |
Niger |
|
|
Fiji |
Nigeria |
|
|
Gabon |
Niue |
|
|
Gambia |
Pakistan |
|
|
Georgia |
Palau |
|
|
Ghana |
Panama |
|
|
Grenada |
Papua New Guinea |
|
|
Guatemala |
Paraguay |
|
|
Guinea |
Peru |
|
|
Guinea-Bissau |
Philippines |
|
|
Guyana |
Rwanda |
|
[1] CERN Homepage, 2022 https://home.web.cern.ch/
[3] Check Annex 1 for low- and middle-income countries
