Presidential Documents

30335

Federal Register

Vol. 65, No. 92

Thursday, May 11, 2000

Title 3—

The President

Proclamation 7304 of May 5, 2000

Global Science and Technology Week, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

At its core, science is an international endeavor. The fundamental workings

of nature—the function of a gene, the quantum behavior of matter and

energy, the chemistry of the atmosphere—are not the sole province of any

one nation. At the same time, many of the greatest challenges our Nation

faces are of global concern. Issues such as poverty, disease, pollution, and

sustainable energy production transcend national boundaries, and their solutions require international collaboration. With the advent of the Internet

and the revolution in communications technology, such cooperation is more

achievable—and more productive—than ever before.

In recent years, America has participated in numerous scientific endeavors

that illustrate the feasibility and the benefits of international cooperation.

For example, as one of 16 participating nations, we are advancing the

frontiers of space exploration through a partnership to build the International

Space Station. Working together in the unique environment of space, we

will strive to solve crucial problems in medicine and ecology and lay the

foundations for developing space-based commerce.

We are also participating in an international scientific effort to map and

sequence all human chromosomes. With the completion of the Human Genome Project, we will have unprecedented knowledge about the cause of

such genetic diseases as muscular dystrophy and Alzheimer’s and greater

hope of preventing them in the future.

Since the 1980s, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment

Program and the World Meteorological Organization, American scientists

have been working with hundreds of scientists around the world to identify,

understand, and raise public awareness about the threat to our planet’s

ozone layer. Our collaborative efforts have led to an international agreement

to eliminate nearly all production of offending chemicals in industrialized

countries and to work to reduce their production in developing countries.

Our Nation continues to reap rewards from these and other important international scientific efforts. We benefit enormously from the large and growing

international scientific community within our borders. For generations, the

world’s brightest scientists have come to our country to study and conduct

research, and many choose to remain here permanently. From Albert Einstein

to four of this year’s Nobel laureates, foreign-born scientists in America

have made extraordinary contributions to science and technology and have

played a vital role in the unprecedented prosperity and economic growth

we have experienced in recent years.

The great French scientist Louis Pasteur noted more than a century ago

that ‘‘science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity,

and is the torch which illuminates the world.’’ During Global Science and

Technology Week, America joins the world community in celebrating the

immeasurable benefits we have enjoyed from international scientific collaboration and looks forward to a future of even greater achievements.

30336 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Presidential Documents

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution

and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 7 to May 13,

2000, as Global Science and Technology Week. I call upon students, educators, and all the people of the United States to learn more about the

international nature of science and technology and the contributions that

international scientists have made to our Nation’s progress and prosperity.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of

May, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of

[FR Doc. 00–12004

Filed 5–10–00; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3195–01–P

the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

œ–