World Organization for Science Literacy debuts in Beijing

BEIJING, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The World Organization for Science Literacy made its debut in Beijing on Sunday.

At the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Conference on Science Literacy, the organization pledged to promote exchanges and cooperation, deepen collaborative innovation and foster positive interaction between science and technology and society, so as to jointly enhance public science literacy and support the beneficial development of an intelligent society.

As an international sci-tech organization, it currently has 32 founding members from 21 countries across Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and Oceania.

The organization was initiated with the support of the China Association for Science and Technology and registered in Beijing in June this year.

With sci-tech issues getting increasingly globalized, cross-border dialogue and collaborative action on science popularization have become ever more urgent.

In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to advance science popularization. In 2025, the proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy reached 16.74 percent, a leap from a relatively low level to a medium level.

Meanwhile, the country has actively engaged in global science popularization cooperation, helping improve scientific literacy in economically underdeveloped regions and among key demographic groups.

Elies Molins, Co-President of the World Federation of Scientific Workers, said scientific literacy is more critical than ever. Only by enabling the public to fully understand both the potential and the risks of technological progress can the risks brought by new knowledge be reduced, he said.