International Year of Crystallography 2014 Resolution

Issued on the occasion of the IYCr Legacy Conference, Rabat, Morocco, 22-24 April 2015

Crystallography for the next generation

In January 2014, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) launched a number of activities to support the United Nations Resolution A/RES/66/284 of 3 July 2012 proclaiming the International Year of Crystallography.

The significance of the International Year was summarised in a booklet entitled 'Crystallography matters!', distributed worldwide in 16 different languages. Over the course of the year, hundreds of activities, initiatives and publications brought the importance of crystallography to new audiences, actively trained new crystallographers, and raised the profile of a science that is central to so much of our understanding and interaction with the world around us.

The conference 'Crystallography for the next generation', held in Rabat, Morocco in April 2015, under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, reviewed with pride the accomplishments achieved during the International Year, with a forward-looking focus on how to sustain momentum and build on success. At a time when scientific endeavour is critical for societal benefit and the importance of crystallography is greater than ever, crystallography remains a science that still has lower visibility than it should.

We, the undersigned, therefore commit:

1. to enhance the stature of crystallography

• by maintaining close liaison and representation between our individual organisations
• by collaborating on relevant programmes of science policy at regional, international and global scales
• by forging closer links between the IUCr and other International Scientific Unions
• by encouraging the recognition of crystallography as an essential component of physics, materials science, chemistry and structural biology, and of its inclusion in curricula for secondary and tertiary-level education
• by continuing to protect the integrity of science through publication of peer-reviewed journals and reference works of the highest quality;

2. to build capacity in developing regions of the world

• by continuing implementation of the OpenLabs and related training initiatives
• by coordinating strategic projects based on available funds and resources, such as the IUCr 'Crystallography in Africa' and the IUCr-ICSU 'Building Science Capacity in Africa via Crystallography' programmes, and supporting similar initiatives in Latin America and South-East Asia
• by encouraging talented students to take advantage of opportunities such as the TWAS Fellowships for Research and Advanced Training
• by continuing to transfer expertise through Visiting Professorship programmes and regional schools or workshops
• by working to reduce barriers to the free movement of scientists;

3. to extend further the public understanding of science in general and crystallography in particular

• by maintaining and expanding educational and public awareness materials and making them freely available in many languages
• by direct engagement of practising crystallographers with active school outreach programmes such as UNESCO Associated Schools Network
• by ongoing development of local crystal-growing activities for schoolchildren and the permanent establishment of a global coordination;
• and we call upon our associates, scientific practitioners and educators worldwide to join our organisations in these efforts to sustain and build on the momentum of the International Year of Crystallography in the spirit that now 'Crystallography matters … more!'

To endorse the actions and goals set out in the IYCr2014 Legacy Resolution go to http://iycr2014.org/declarations/legacy-endorsement