Environment & Regulations

IYC 2011: What was it all for?

The International Year of Chemistry formally ended in Brussels on 1 December. Martin Todd asks what was achieved

So that's it then, the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) 2011 has come to an end. The final big set piece occasion, the closing ceremony, took place in Brussels on 1 December. This event, attended by around 800 individuals, largely closed the curtain on an array of activities and events on all aspects of chemistry.

So what has the IYC actually achieved? What has been learned? And are chemistry and the chemicals industry better thought of or better understood than they were on 27 January 2011, when the event was officially opened in Paris? The closing day event gave insights into the attitude, the approach and, ultimately, the achievements of the IYC.

The importance Europe places on chemistry and its industry was confirmed by the presence of Prince Philippe of Belgium at the closing ceremony. He told attendees: "The IYC has raised the profile of the science of chemistry. Chemistry allows mankind to break new boundaries and face new challenges in areas such as climate change, energy and health." 

Prince Philippe also noted that the chemicals industry is "essential for a successful global future, if we are to improve the quality of life of all those who live on the planet". IYC 2011 had allowed society to consider the balance between how chemistry enhances our lifestyles and the effect it can have on the planet, he said.

The significance the chemicals industry placed on the closing event can be judged by the presence in Brussels of big hitters like the CEOs of DuPont and Solvay and the chairman of BASF's board of directors. As at the opening event, Dow Chemical's CEO Andrew Liveris was scheduled to appear but in the end did could not make it, though many others from Dow did.

Cynics might say that IYC 2011 has been great for corporate PR copy-writers. The companies who were most strongly present at the closing ceremony were also the quickest - on 1 December itself - to tell the world about what they have been doing. Nonetheless, the statistics show that they really did put a big effort in.

BASF, for instance saw over 100,000 people visit its sites on public access open days in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Germany or attend events hosted or sponsored by it during IYC 2011. For instance, it took part in exhibitions in France and Brazil and other events, including a 'Molecule Feast' in Switzerland attended by 4,000 people and a science show in South Africa that drew 6,000.

Over 31,000 children and teens, including 15,000 in the Asia-Pacific region alone, carried out water-themed experiments in BASF 'Kids' Labs' across the globe during 2011, while a 'Water Exploration' kit was developed and distributed free to 20,000 children in Germany, Switzerland, France and Poland.

Over 800 attended the closing ceremony to IYC 2011 in Brussels

In the US, 5,000 schools took part in the BASF science programme and in the UK, BASF gave 10,000 science dictionaries to schools and libraries.  Finally, Chemgeneration.com, an internet tutorial launched early in the year, has been visited over 40,000 times by chemistry fans in 126 countries.

Dow Chemical, meanwhile, highlighted its role in addressing sustainability issues via IYC 2011 events and how it will continue to do so through its investments in 2012. These will include being the sole corporate sponsor of an international chemistry competition for school students from over 70 nations in Washington DC next July and its role as a worldwide Olympic partner in creating a sustainable Olympic Games in London in 2012.

Speaking at the closing IYC event Giorgio Squinzi, president of CEFIC and CEO of Mapei, said that he believes that the IYC "had helped explain to a wider audience how chemistry will play a key role in tackling the future challenges facing our planet, which will see the global population rise from its current level of 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050".

Solvay's CEO Christian Jourquin told the closing event that the day brought into focus and to the attention of the public at large the fact that chemistry is part of the solution to the major challenges facing our world. Jourquin himself strongly believes this. He sees chemistry as the mother of all sciences and believes that the IYC has raised the overall level of public consciousness of the good it has done and continues to do. 

The concept of chemistry making a serious contribution to saving the planet was reiterated by DuPont's feisty CEO Ellen Kullman, who said: "Only scientists will solve the problems our planet faces in terms of health, agriculture, energy and protecting people and the environment, not politicians. Of course politicians can help, but the real solutions will come from the sciences."

Clearly one of the key goals of the IYC was to put chemistry back on centre stage as one of the good guys. If it has achieved the goal of educating more of the general public of the contribution it makes and will make to tackle the serious challenges our world faces, that in itself would be a serious achievement. However, that is a big 'if'.

After leaving the closing ceremony, I attended a typical Brussels event of EU officials, journalists and public affairs professionals and asked ten people what they knew about the IYC. Only three had even heard of it and only one had attended an IYC event. This is far from a systematic or statistically valid vox pop, but clearly the IYC has not really dented the consciousness of most of this educated and informed group.

BASF hosted many 'Kids' Labs' as part of the event

However, said Dow EVP Geoffrey Merszei: "We will look back on this year of as marking a turning point of awareness of what chemistry does in all areas of our lives. We view the IYC as just the beginning of a path to better future utilising chemistry. As an industry we have used the IYC as a point in time to build and strengthen collaborations with diverse stakeholders, from NGOs to governments and academics."

A key concern addressed throughout the year has been young people's mounting uninterest in studying chemistry or becoming involved with the industry. This negative attitude faced a positive rebuttal in Brussels, where 13 'Young Leaders', drawn largely from BASF, Dow Chemicals, DuPont and Solvay, presented their report entitled 'The World in 2050: Our Expectations from the Life Sciences, Chemistry, Industry & Governments to Build a Better World by 2050'.

The 'Young Leaders' first gave their presentation to 200 high school students, then repeated it at the closing ceremony. It conveyed the message that the really big issues we face can only be solved with the help of chemistry. This kept largely to the well trodden paths of the role of agrochemicals in improved food production, chemicals' contribution to water purification, chemicals adding to energy efficiency, the growing potential of bio-chemicals and the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to science.

Yes, the 'Young Leaders' brought an enthusiasm, energy and confidence to their presentation but as a vision for 2050 it largely felt a little tame. The issues they dealt with have appeared on the industry agenda in one form or another for many years. And, of course, food, energy and clean water are the big issues, but it would have been good had their visions been a bit more radical, a bit more 'out there'.

Squinzi, who believes that one of the major aims of the year was to attract new talent to chemistry, clearly believes that the 'Young Leaders' initiative shows industry taking a big step in the right direction.  Jourquin, meanwhile, said that this initiative "shows that the chemical industry is in safe hands for the future". Coming up to retirement himself, he was clearly happy to leave the future of the industry in the hands of the young people.

Squinzi - IYC has explained chemistry to a wider audience

The IYC was also about looking back, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Institute for Chemistry & Physics in Brussels. The industry spent the year assessing its legacy of the last 100 years while also looking forward to the future. What remains unclear is what happens to the Young Leaders initiative now. Will their presentation have any influence beyond the conference hall of the closing ceremony?

The 'Tomorrow Starts with Chemistry' exhibition and debates, a IYC event organised by CEFIC which took place in Brussels a week before the closing ceremony, took a different and much more hands-on approach to involving school children and young people in the debate on the role of chemistry and particularly the role of women in chemistry.

This year's Xperimania awards, organised by CEFIC and European Schoolnet, were the main vehicle used to engage those aged from six to 17. The competition asked participants for visual representations celebrating the role of women in chemistry from drawings to videos. The competition was clearly a huge success, attracting 600 applicants from 14 countries, submitted by 65 different schools.

In opening the event, Hubert Mandery, director general of CEFIC, welcomed the contribution of the young people, and said he saw it as part of "the world-wide celebration of chemistry and a great example of how exciting chemistry can be".  Meanwhile Alexia Joyce of European Schoolnet said that the competition "gives a boost to students, especially females, to become more interested in chemistry and also tackles the stereotype that chemistry is intrinsically a male subject".

Prizes went to schools from Poland, Lithuania Spain and Romania, while numerous classes of local school children engaged with the interactive exhibitions. And, on the final day of Tomorrow Starts with Chemistry, the BBC journalist Andrea Seller delivered an interactive lecture to more than 200 young people on the mystery and wonder of chemistry.

Acknowledging and celebrating the history of women in chemistry, framed around the 100th anniversary of Marie Sklodowska-Curie's being awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry - and being the first woman to do so - continued in the IYC closing event. Present too was the most recent female winner, Ada Yonath, who gave a lecture on protein inhibitors. Yonath acknowledged Curie as her inspiration - though, given that a recent survey by the Royal Society found that 25% of 14-year-olds in the UK do not know the difference between Marie Curie and the singer Mariah Carey, there is still much work to do!

Nobel laureate Ada Yonath was inspired by Marie Curie's example

Professor Nicole Moreau, president of IUPAC, reiterated the role of IYC in celebrating and promoting the role of women in chemistry. She also used the event to announce the two new names of two new elements with the atomic numbers 114 and 116.

For all that, was IYC as positive for the industry as it seems to have been for chemistry as a science? "We still need to communicate more effectively with the general public, with young people," Mandery said.

"Somehow we need to raise their enthusiasm about chemistry and working with the chemical industry. It is important that we build on our links with the outside world; we must continue that broader debate around being clear what chemistry what our industry offers in terms of contributing to a healthier, more comfortable, more sustainable lifestyle." 

Added Dow's Merszei: "The IYC is just the beginning of a path to a better future utilising chemistry and to raising a generation of scientists that understands and embraces the role chemistry plays in solving global challenges. With more than 95% of all manufacturing products enabled by chemistry, this science will play a key role in building the future. The legacy of IYC is that it has provided a point in time for industry, governments and communities around the world to join together." 

One of the other legacies of the IYC is the growing awareness of the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach in the development of new products, where chemistry is the enabler. There is also a greater awareness of chemistry needing to better utilise business and marketing skills in order to ensure new and innovative products get to market more quickly.

Many speakers at the closing event commented on the fact that the walls between university chemistry departments and the other sciences were increasingly being torn down, with open and collaborative research being the order of the day. Meanwhile links between academia, industry, government and other key stakeholders were being continually strengthened.

The European Commissioner for Research, Innovation & Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn told the closing ceremony that chemical research and the chemicals industry will have a major part to play in the EC's new funding instrument Horizon 2020, with its €80 billion research budget, running from 2014 to 2020. This will involve chemistry and supportive sciences in terms of developing food security, sustainable technologies, nanotechnologies, materials, biotechnology and production, she said.

Geoghegan-Quinn noted that, as IYC has underlined, chemistry is everywhere. The chemicals industry is also an important stakeholder that should play its role in tackling challenges such as developing batteries for electric vehicles, meeting our demands for water through purification; or producing new pharmaceuticals. "Boosting chemistry is an important part of creating an excellent science base in Europe," she concluded.

So was it all worth it? Chemistry and the chemicals industry have certainly had their time in the sun. The IYC has clearly concentrated the minds of industry, science, academia and policy makers on what chemistry has achieved in the past 100 years and what it hopes to achieve in the coming decades. But did the IYC fundamentally mark a fabled tipping point, regarding society's relationship with and enthusiasm for all things chemical?  The jury is still out.

 

 

From Online Issue: December 2011