ArmInfo. President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sargsyan, who is on a working visit to the Swiss Confederation, in Zurich took part in panel discussions held within the framework of the International Festival of Science and Art STARMUS.
According to the presidential press service, world-renowned scientists, astronauts, Nobel Prize laureates presented their views on the agenda topics.
In his speech, President Armen Sargsyan, in particular, said: "In order to live a full life, we must learn something new every day, reveal, love and be creative. Any mission begins with a dream that then becomes a strategic program, and the latter is a mission for the whole nation. I am sure that we have a mission to make our country a center of technology, science and education, for which there are all prerequisites. " During the STARMUS festival, Armen Sargsyan held a series of meetings with the participants of the event.
Thus, the President of Armenia met with the Director of the Astronomical Institute of the Canary Islands, Francisco Sanchez, discussed the possibility of cooperation with the Byurakan Observatory. With the well- known Canadian physicist, the Nobel Prize laureate in 2018, Donna Strickland Armen Sargsyan spoke about the role of science and modern development trends. The interlocutors stressed the need to encourage and inspire young people to engage in science. As an example, the President of Armenia noted the scientific achievements of Donna Strickland and considered her contribution to laser physics to be significant.
Scientific and technical progress and prospects for cooperation with Armenia were the key topics of the meeting between President Sargsyan and the founder of Nest Labs and the creator of the iPod brand Tony Fadell. For the global contribution to the field of information technology in 2017, Tony Fadell was awarded the prize of the President of the Republic of Armenia.
After the meetings, responding to a question about the importance of STARMUS, President Sargsyan noted that the festival, which brings together world-famous scientists, Nobel Prize winners, more than a dozen cosmonauts (in particular, famous astronauts of the Apollo mission), as well as world-famous musicians, is one of ways to make science popular and attractive.
According to Sargsyan, STARMUS is a festival where art, science, astronomy, great scientists, great musicians perform together. "When you study the universe, except for scientific value, except for those forms and methods that we use to understand the universe, you see its other beauty, therefore, it is also art and in some sense has absolute harmony that can be found in music "he said.
Speaking about competition between nations in the context of the topic of scientific and technological development, the Armenian President noted: "If a nation has a mission, then it collects all its potential in one place to achieve this goal. I think one of our nation's goals is to become a leading technological, scientific country. " He noted with satisfaction that many children in Armenia want, for example, to become programmers. At the same time, Sargsyan expressed the hope that the children would also become scientists, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, or specialists in artificial intelligence, "because the future belongs to them." In order for such professions to become attractive, as Sargsyan pointed out, much needs to be done by the president, the government, and the state as a whole.
Touching on his offer-invitation to hold the next STARMUS festival in Armenia, the president noted that this is another opportunity to present Armenia to the world community, so that Armenia becomes a meeting place for world-famous scientists, Nobel laureates, astronauts, cosmonauts, famous musicians from around the world. "I hope that the 6th STARMUS will inspire our young people to be engaged not only in music, art, but also in science," said the President of Armenia.