AGM and next Spending Review
Science is Vital announces its first AGM, which will be held on 13 September 2012. This is your chance to get more closely involved in what we do. The AGM comes at a crucial time for UK science. We are currently gearing up to lobby the Government to renew its commitment to science in its next Spending Review, currently projected by The Campaign for Science and Engineering to take place early, in 2013. As the economy is still struggling, we are worried that the Government might look to science for making convenient cuts and, working together with other organisations and campaign groups, we want to do everything possible to make sure this doesn’t happen. At the AGM we will collectively decide how to prepare for this extremely important challenge and discuss other issues that our membership feels are important.
Details about the AGM
Date: 13 Sept, 2012
Time: 6.30 — 10 PM
Place: Christopher Ingold XLG1 Chemistry Lecture Theatre, Christopher Ingold Building, UCL, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ
Agenda: In addition to the formal AGM, we will have a line-up of interesting speakers and entertainers, plus food and a cash bar, so it should be a fun evening.
All full members of Science is Vital (those who have donated £3.14 or more to the campaign since 13 September 2011) will have voting rights. Others are welcome but will not have a vote.
Space is limited: please RSVP as soon as you can using this link: http://scienceisvitalagm.eventbrite.co.uk
Why science?
Investing in research enriches society and helps drive the economy. It led to our preeminent position in the 20th century, and will be vital in meeting the challenges of the 21st – whether they be in energy, medicine, infrastructure, computing, or simply humanity’s primal desire for discovery.
The UK has a proud history of excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We are world leaders in many fields of research, producing over 10% of global scientific output with only 1% of the global population, and despite spending less on science per capita than most of our competitors.
Our world-class research universities and institutes which attract excellence and investment from around the world have made us a global hub for science. Nations such as the United States, China, Germany, and France have all recognized the importance of investing in science especially in austere times – it could be catastrophic for the UK to do the exact opposite.
