--- title: Science March: Scientists Need to Fight and Become Diplomats description: As President Donald Trump cuts science funding and promotes America first, science can provide solutions across the globe canonical: https://time.com/4750864/science-funding-diplomacy/ author: Nina Dudnik article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-22T12:30:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:23.697Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Scientists Should All Be Diplomats og:description: 'Science really is a universal language' og:url: https://time.com/4750864/science-funding-diplomacy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaae6d87baba3c64a/6988c4048e0601d38846a0f0/science-march-boston1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3200 og:image:height: 1800 og:image:alt: Rally To Stand Up For Science In Boston og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Scientists Should All Be Diplomats twitter:description: 'Science really is a universal language' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaae6d87baba3c64a/6988c4048e0601d38846a0f0/science-march-boston1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Scientists Should All Be Diplomats > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=4e92dcbf-2463-4081-8d29-2b74bcdcce02&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Meet the Scientists Running for Office [Watch (HLS stream): Meet the Scientists Running for Office](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Li60SNgy.m3u8) (2:49)  _Published 2017-04-22. Meet the scientists who are running for office and hoping to bring science back to Congress._ by [Nina Dudnik](https://time.com/author/nina-dudnik/) ## Nina Dudnik Apr 22, 2017 12:30 PM UTC  Scientists, science advocates and community members gather in Copley Square in Boston on Feb. 19, 2017 for a Rally to Stand up for Science, a call to fight against President Trumps perceived efforts to discredit science and climate research, and to dismantle scientific institutions in the government. Scientists, science advocates and community members gather in Copley Square in Boston on Feb. 19, 2017 for a Rally to Stand up for Science, a call to fight against President Trumps perceived efforts to discredit science and climate research, and to dismantle scientific institutions in the government. Jessica Rinaldi—Boston Globe/Getty Images by [Nina Dudnik](https://time.com/author/nina-dudnik/) ## Nina Dudnik Apr 22, 2017 12:30 PM UTC This Saturday, in over 500 cities worldwide, thousands of people will take to the streets for an unprecedented show of support for all things evidence-based. The range of different groups joining the [March for Science](http://time.com/4749221/science-march-scientists-partisan/) — from librarians to artists to teachers to oncologists — highlight the truth behind a phrase that is often dismissed as a cliché: [Science](http://time.com/4736798/march-science-nature-editorial/) really is a universal language. And it is that universality that makes science the ideal conduit for diplomacy in this moment in history. The scientific method is a framework for asking fundamental questions about the world, and the instinct to do that is part of human nature everywhere and at every age. Science provides a process for pursuing answers that can be followed regardless of where you live or what language you speak. It brings people together through a shared desire to solve real-world problems and a common joy in discovery. That’s what makes it an ideal way to bring people together and transcend the kinds of barriers that currently threaten our relationships across the globe. Certainly there is no shortage of important problems facing our nation and the world: combating emerging diseases and improving treatments against existing ones, feeding a growing global population, sustainably powering our cities and homes, and [preserving our air and water](http://time.com/4685522/donald-trump-epa-water-rule/). With both [science funding](http://time.com/4713731/donald-trump-climate-change-executive-order-president-obama-epa/) and formal diplomacy at the federal level on the precipice, it is time for the rest of us to become a nationwide science diplomatic corps. This starts at the earliest level, with greater support for programs to connect U.S. schools with sister schools abroad. Conversations between elementary or high school students for pure cultural exchange are great — but why not have them conduct science experiments together, comparing hypotheses and results long-distance? At the university level, we should expand the portfolio of grant programs that support international teams of academic researchers and push them to think more expansively about where they look for collaborators. Good partners don’t need to be down the hall or across town; technology allows teams operating in multiple countries to be in constant contact while conducting their respective parts of a project. Let us broaden our geographic scope well beyond the handful of countries we usually look to for exchanges and research programs. Countries that are historically “off the beaten track” of scientific collaborations are home to important research subjects and more importantly, talented, well-trained professionals with a front-line view into fascinating and urgent problems their U.S. counterparts may not have considered. Many of these are also countries where we have a vested interest in strengthening economic and social stability and bolstering the image of Americans. I have seen this constantly in my own work. Last month, for example, my nonprofit organization hosted an event that brought together over 150 members of the Boston scientific community — individuals from pharmaceutical companies, universities, nonprofits and even governmental agencies — together with scientists from countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia. It was breathtaking to watch as the Tanzanian chemists chatted effortlessly with the Vietnamese environmental biologist, while American professionals of many global backgrounds themselves found common ground with their counterparts from Mexico, Colombia and Kenya. After Saturday, let’s not squander our nationwide excitement for science. Instead, let us harness it. We can create a distributed network of private-citizen diplomats and use the power of science to strengthen our global relationships. We can educate a new generation of internationally connected scientific investigators. And we can uncover solutions to improve the lives of millions of people — not just at home, but around the world, ## Transcript Science used to be a bipartisan issue. Everyone use to love science. Everyone wanted to go to space. We're in such a crisis that we can't be complacent anymore. Speaking of global warming it's suppose to be 70 degrees today, it's freezing here. The President's first budget issues a big blow to the Environmental Protection Agency. President Trump taking major steps to strip down Obama era regulations to combat climate change. You don't have to be a scientist to see that Donald Trump has his facts wrong. As scientists, we haven't done a great job of speaking to things that people are worried about right Right now. And [ UNKNOWN ] is great but if you have the privilege to be comfortable you should stop bein comfortable. You can have the best candidate in the world World. But if you don't have the resources to communicate, you cannot possibly be successful. And that could be a very difficult thing to do. You know, to call up someone you went to highschool with and ask them For $ 250 or whatever the number. Scientists traditionally looked at science as being above politics. The thought was, well, we'll just put the evidence and the results of our research out there, and let the facts speak for themselves. And that's not working. And so I founded 314 Action to bring the scientific community together, but also to encourage them to run. We need scientists to step up and actually get involved in electrical politics . >> [ LAUGH ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I don't want to live in a world where I'm afraid my baby drinks the bath water and I don't want to live a world where I'm afraid of her playing in dirt because it has led in it. And things that real people are dealing with. I want her to see by me running that when our country really is in crisis we don't just sit down, that her mom stood up for her and that she should do that too. Thank you so much for having us here today. Yeah, so I'm running for congress. This was not the life, I had envisioned for myself, ever. But things happen and our country changes and I am worried about our country. Probably many of you are if you are in this room. Most Americans believe in global warming. Far greater Percent of Americans believe in global warming, then Congress believes in global warming. And that's a huge problem, right? And so I think it's really time for scientists to step up to the table. I'm Abby and I'm a biologist, so [ LAUGH ] Obviously a lot of us are passionate. 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