On the morning of September 19, the 2023 World Conference on Science Literacy kicked off at Shougang Park in Shijingshan District. The theme of this year's conference is "Improving Science Literacy and Building a Prosperous World". Senior decision-makers, top scientists, well-known scholars and representatives of relevant important international scientific and technological organizations and institutions participated online. About 700 Chinese and foreign representatives from 13 international organizations and 28 countries' scientific and technological organizations and institutions gathered in Beijing offline to participate in the grand event.

The conference is co-hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, and is supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Science Council (ISC), the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), and the World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS).

At the conference, experts in various fields of science conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on top trending topics such as strengthening the capacity-building of science popularization in various countries, cultivating the scientific quality of key groups of individuals, and realizing human modernization together with the modernization of the society, Representatives of all parties also agreed to accelerate the construction of the world's public scientific literacy organization, build a professional high-level exchange platform, and lead the development of international scientific literacy. They also agreed to strengthen the capacity building of science popularization in their countries, promote the co-development and sharing of science popularization resources, and strive to bridge the global gap in scientific quality. Moreover, countries will put efforts into deepening international cooperation in science popularization, promoting the assessment of science literacy of citizens around the globe, and facilitating the development of the world's public scientific literacy. These actions definitely have laid a solid foundation for telling popular science stories of China and the world and promoting mutual learning among civilizations.

The conference consists of five parts: the opening ceremony, keynote speech session, two summit forums, thematic forums, and closing ceremony. Among them, eight thematic forums have diverse themes, discussing hot topics in the field of science popularization, such as stimulating young people's "curiosity, imagination and desire for exploration" from multiple perspectives, strengthening content creation for science popularization, construction of science popularization facilities, and integration of science and art. Measures to strengthen the capacity building of science popularization and improve the scientific quality of the public were also elaborated on.

The World Conference on Science Literacy has been held four times since 2018, with more than 100 national or international scientific and technological organizations and more than 3,000 workers in the field of scientific quality participating in the conference.

(Source: WeChat Official Account "Beijing Shijingshan")