Mission

The World Federation of Scientists (WFS), founded in Erice (Sicily) in 1973, is a free association which has grown to include more than 10,000 scientists drawn from 110 countries.  The Federation promotes international collaboration in science and technology between scientists and researchers.  One of its principal aims is to mitigate planetary emergencies.   The creation of the World Federation of Scientists was made possible by the existence, in Erice, of a centre for scientific culture named after the physicist Ettore Majorana, the  Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture. This Centre, which has been dubbed "The University of the Third Millennium", has attracted over 90,000 scientists from all over the world since its founding in 1963.  The World Federation of Scientists rapidly identified 15 classes of Planetary Emergencies and began to organise the fight against these threats. One of its main achievements was the drawing up of the Erice Statement, in 1982, by Paul Dirac, Piotr Kapitza and Antonino Zichichi, clearly setting out the ideals of the Federation and putting forward a set of proposals for putting these ideals into practice. A milestone was the holding of a series of International Seminars on Nuclear War, beginning in 1981, which have had a tremendous impact on reducing the danger of a planet-wide nuclear disaster, ultimately contributing to the end of the Cold War.

In 1986, through the action of a group of eminent scientists (most of whom were members of the WFS) the International Centre for Scientific Culture ICSC-World Laboratory was founded in Geneva to help achieve the goals outlined in the Erice Statement. To achieve these, specific pilot projects in most fields of science have been implemented, to help overcome the Planetary Emergencies.  Today, the WFS has focused on Terrorism, as part of its Cultural Planetary Emergency, and has held special plenary sessions and dedicated seminars at the Ettore Majorana International Centre for Scientific Culture, to address this growing threat.

The Chairman of the World Federation of Scientists is Professor Antonino Zichichi; its Secretary General, Dr. Claude Manoli, both to be reached at the Federation’s headquarters at CERN, Building #29, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland.



The World Federation of Scientists’ (WFS) Permanent Monitoring Panel on Information Security (Info Security PMP) was established in 2001 and has been engaged in identifying the threats emanating from cyberspace.  This work is undertaken in the framework of the World Federation of Scientists’ International Seminars on Planetary Emergencies, a series of conferences with broad international, multidisciplinary participation.  Information about WFS is at http://www.federationofscientists.org/.

The  Info Security PMP has examined the role of cyber security in the context of the Digital Divide through multidisciplinary inputs and a comprehensive review of information and communication technology (ICT) security issues in developing countries.  The underlying premise of the WFS Info Security PMP is to help ensure that the full benefits of the Information Age accrue to all users of ICTs and that these benefits are not undercut by negative uses of these technologies.  In the view of the PMP, it is important to safeguard information, applications, and networks against cyber attacks, malware, economic espionage, and other forms of cybercrime, including information warfare and cyber terrorism everywhere. 

Global connectivity is affording developing countries a more competitive environment for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), outsourcing opportunities, higher-skilled jobs, and improved intellectual capital, thereby jumpstarting development over more traditional paths toward their development goals. Too often, however, cyber security is viewed as a follow-on development issue versus one that drives the deployment of ICTs.  Two factors are changing this paradigm: (1) the need for effective global harmonization and cooperation in countering, investigating, and prosecuting cyber criminal activities, including information warfare and cyber terrorism, and (2) the increased attention to data protection and cyber security considerations in the outsourcing process.

It is increasingly clear that a security culture that instills confidence in the global marketplace will enhance the local deployment of ICTs, attract opportunities for FDI and outsourcing operations, and advance the progression of developing countries.