On Monday, President Klaus Iohannis sent a message to the opening ceremony of the European Seismic Engineering and Seismology Conference – 3ECEES, according to Agerpres.

„I strongly believe that at the very core of our effective prevention and response to natural disasters (such as earthquakes or disasters generated by climate change – floods, drought or wildfires), stands an approach based on collaboration and scientifically proven facts and solutions. We are stronger when we join our forces, as politicians meeting at summits aimed to address pressing international issues or as scientists working across national borders at joint research projects that generate knowledge, beneficial not only to the citizens of a particular country, but to humanity as a whole. There is still work to be done in bridging the divide between the scientific and the policymaking community, on one hand, and the scientific community and the public, on the other hand, when it comes to reducing the risk of natural disasters and responding to them. We need better and more direct links between scientific breakthroughs and education in general, with higher education playing a key role in science dissemination,” says Iohannis in the message delivered by state adviser Alexandra Bocse.

He adds that the ‘Educated Romania’ project emphasises the need to embed increased scientific literacy, as well as the importance of STEM, in all levels of general education.

The head of state highlights the importance of scientific data and research in devising solid public policies in the service of our citizens, underlying the importance of early warning and properly informing and educating the public regarding the adequate individual response in case of earthquakes, extreme weather phenomena and severe polluting events.

„In anticipating such events, modelling their impact and developing effective responses to them when they actually occur, we rely on the scientific community, which is very well represented in this conference.”

Iohannis also mentions the key role played by earthquake engineering and seismology.

„The research you are undertaking saves lives by providing decision makers with key data in reducing seismic risk and has therefore positive implications for the lives of citizens across the world, directly affecting their wellbeing. Romania and I are very proud to support your work by providing through this conference a platform for your research community to meet, exchange ideas and plan the ground-breaking research of tomorrow,” says Iohannis.

Agerpres