Photo: Artem Podrez (Pexels)
“Science regained importance in our lives in the wake of the pandemic, and it also brought us a sense of hope that things will soon get better,” the 3M company mentions in its annual report.
By: Laura Puentes
A new year has begun, the world continues to fight against the Covid 19 pandemic and as a result of this all people have turned to see the importance of science for development , not only in health matters but to achieve a sustainable life.
Since 2018, the 3M company has carried out the 3M State of Science Index , which studies how the world values science and explores the perception that people have of it.
One of the important points of this study is to know how people feel and think about science and the impact it generates globally.
five main axes
During this fifth edition of the study , five main points were addressed, which are: hope, perception of science, equity, sustainability and shared leadership.
“Science regained importance in our lives in the wake of the pandemic, and it also brought us a sense of hope that things will soon get better. Similarly, the fifth wave of this study has allowed us to understand and predict the long-term impact that the pandemic has had on scientific perception, which gives the opportunity as a society to go one step further to face the challenges we face. as a global community”, he comments on the 3M portal, José Varela, senior vice president of Public and Government Affairs for 3M Latin America.
This study was carried out in 17 countries, where more than a thousand people were surveyed for each nation. Mexico, Brazil and Colombia were present for the first time as representatives of Latin America.
hopeful science
In our country, 91 percent of people feel that science brings hope to the world for the future , while in our neighboring United States it was 89 percent.
The country with the highest perception that science brings hope for the future is China , where 97 percent of those surveyed say they think so.
According to the data shared by 3M, for Latin America, this hope includes priorities that science can solve, not only issues related to health but also the challenges of sustainability and the equity gap in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). .
In Mexico, 91 percent of people feel that science brings hope to the world for the future. 3M
However, only 39 percent of those surveyed trust what scientists say , although another data reveals that 75 percent of people believe that science is of the utmost importance to their daily lives.
Likewise, 76 percent of people mention that they would defend science if they were to question it, an important point at a time when there is an excess of false information surfing the internet and social networks.
When the pandemic is under control
It is true that this pandemic caused us to separate ourselves from people to take care of our health and avoid contagion, which is why for 61 percent of Latin Americans what they crave most is to have hugs and handshakes again.
Also , 58 percent of the people in Latin America what they most want is to continue with their daily lives without the use of face masks and for a little more than half of those surveyed, the most desired thing is to be able to travel and see their family and friends. .
Sustainability: important to science
Science is important for the development of solutions for climate change , pollution and the creation of renewable energy sources.
93 percent of people believe that everyone should be interested in science for the generation of a more sustainable world. 3M
The pandemic has not only brought with it a revelation in health systems worldwide, but has also given way to a growing vision of environmental problems, as 88 percent of people perceive it.
In this way, 93 percent of people believe that everyone should be interested in science for the generation of a more sustainable world.
For Latin Americans, environmental problems are more important, they even point out that they are above the pandemic. They emphasize that they should be given priority by scientists.
For 43 percent of those surveyed it is important attention to climate change, for 41 percent water pollution, 40 percent indicate that the improvement in air quality and 39 percent say that the Access to drinking water is a priority problem.
2020 ended with many changes and scientific advances, let’s see what the year that is just beginning has in store for us.
Source:
SOSI 2021 | The State of Science in the World (3m.com)
