Science has been advancing at such a fast pace lately that society faces increasing difficulties keeping up with it and, most importantly, understanding it.

For this reason, there’s a growing need to promote awareness among the population of the risks and benefits emerging from the current scientific and technological revolution. This is the first step towards the development of a critical understanding of the changes that directly affect our lives.

All over the world, the British Council works to involve all areas of society in this debate, and to contribute towards a more democratic technological progress.

People want the scientific community to be more transparent; it has to be better prepared for communicating with the rest of society. In turn, governments have to be more capable of evaluating scientific production in order to create adequate public policies for education, health, and social development.

Pedagogic tools need to be created in response to new educational demands; laws need to encompass ethical issues considered unusual up until recently, or protect citizens from being discriminated against as a result of inappropriate handling of scientific information.

The press needs to be able to translate scientific jargon for us, as well as giving appropriate weight to issues involving not only scientific knowledge, but also ethical, moral, and philosophical concerns.

In the United Kingdom, there have been numerous debates and discussions on the advances of science and scientific communication, leading to new approaches to the task and responsibilities of scientific communities, government, academia, press, and society itself in this process of science democratisation.