In the Great Hall of the Library of Alexandria, Serageldin welcomed worldwide participants to the opening session of the BioVisionAlexandria (BVA) 2012. He introduced the eminent guests and speakers of the sixth international biennial conference: Didier Hoch, CEO, the World Life Sciences Forum, BioVision (France); Koji Omi, Founder and Chairman, Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum (Japan); Romain Murenzi, Executive Director, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World - TWAS (Italy); and Osama El-Fouly, Alexandria Governor (Egypt).
The conference is held under the title New Life Sciences: Linking Science to Society” and focuses on three major themes: Health, Food and Agriculture, and Environment . It gathers representatives and leaders in science, industry and society. In his welcoming speech, Serageldin said that BVA 2012 seeks to share the knowledge and experiences of a group of eminent scientists in an attempt to achieve a positive impact in society.
Following the Opening Session, Serageldin gave a lecture entitled “The Seven Pillars of the Knowledge Revolution”, in which he traced the changes in the patterns of knowledge and science parallel to changes in information technology, highlighting how that will be reflected on the levels of local communities and nations.
BVA is an international event organized by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in partnership with the World Life Sciences Forum, BioVision. It is a continuation of the tradition that started in BioVision 1999 in Lyon, France in which BioVisionAlexandria Conference is held every even year, alternating with the World Life Sciences Forum held in Lyon every odd year since 2004.
BVA 2012 continues until 25 April with 2050 participants from different countries worldwide.