2022 markerer hundredeåret for Niels Bohrs Nobelpris og er udnævnt som FN’s International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development. Emil Bjerrum-Bohr, lektor ved Niels Bohr Institutet og Niels Bohrs oldebarn deltog på Danmarks og Videnskabsår22’s vegne i åbningsceremonien i Paris den 8. juli. Her er talen, han holdt i den anledning.

Videnskabsår22 fungerer som International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Developments danske sekretariat og deler målet om at udbrede forståelsen for vigtigheden af grundforskning i indsatsen for at indfri FN’s verdensmål for en mere bæredygtig fremtid.

Se Emil Bjerrum-Bohrs tale til åbningsceremonien her:

Læs talen herunder:

This year is a dual anniversary. A decade ago, Niels Bohr won the Nobel Prize in physics for his groundbreaking atomic model. It provided a novel and accurate description of the fundamental nature of matter and laid the foundation for quantum mechanics. He also established his renowned institute in Copenhagen, today known as the Niels Bohr Institute.

A remarkable place since its invention and fast a fantastic playground for bright young scientists of all nationalities. It functioned as an open discussion forum for all the big fundamental questions and witnessed most of the twentieth century’s breakthrough discoveries. Still, the institute preserved its minimalistic hierarchy and playful atmosphere. It became a refuge and home for researchers and a place where science often went hand in hand with intellectual games, jokes, enjoyment, and outdoor sports. 

Niels Bohr’s vision for scientific organizations has nowadays become the norm, engrained in today’s thinking about sound and productive scientific environments fueled by openness, equal opportunities, and research freedom. 

Niels Bohr’s character was passionate, and he was fearless as a political influencer. An essential aspect of his legacy is to learn from this. With the emergence of nuclear weapons and frightening political instability shadowing the world, Niels decided to act and address politicians worldwide with his letter to the United Nations. His philosophy based on an open exchange of ideas, international collaboration, and constant strive for new scientific discoveries and progress lies at the heart of what we embrace today. I am sure Niels would have felt right at home and joined the battle for a more sustainable world.

I thank you all for letting me make these remarks.