Global Science and Technology Week, 2000

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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.

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