A/HRC/20/26 the right to benefit from the creativity of others while protecting the moral and material interests emanating from “any scientific, literary or artistic production”.10 19. The bond between the right to science and the right to participate in cultural life is reflected in the discussions led by UNESCO on 16 and 17 July 2009, in Venice, Italy, involving academics and United Nations partners, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), that culminated in the Venice Statement on the Right to Enjoy the Benefits of Scientific Progress and its Applications. At the event, participants stressed that access to the benefits of scientific progress not only allowed improving one’s socio-economic situation, but also gave the opportunity to take a meaningful part in the life of communities, whether they are local, national or international.11 One example is new information communication technologies, which not only influence culture but are becoming an intrinsic part of culture as everyday practice. The rights to science and to culture should both be understood as including a right to have access to and use information and communication and other technologies in self-determined and empowering ways. 20. The link between the right to science and the right to culture can be further understood with regard to people’s ability to “aspire”. A growing body of literature suggests that the ability to aspire – namely, to conceive of a better future that is not only desirable but attainable – is an important cultural capability that needs to be supported and developed, especially among the marginalized and vulnerable.12 Aspirations embody people’s conceptions of elements deemed essential for a life with dignity. Never a mere individual exercise, aspirations are informed by, and in turn inform, communities of shared cultural values and draw upon cultural heritage, including accessible accumulated scientific knowledge. New scientific knowledge and innovations increase available options, thereby strengthening people’s capacity to envisage a better future for which access to specific technologies may sometimes be pivotal.13 2. Linkages with other rights 21. Given the enormous impact that scientific advances and technologies have on the daily lives of individuals and peoples, the right to science must be read in conjunction with freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, 14 the right of everyone to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives,15 and the right of all peoples to self-determination.16 The right to development as the “constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 15.1 (c) The Right to Enjoy the Benefits of Scientific Progress and its Applications, UNESCO, Paris, 2009, p. 4. Arjun Appadurai, “The capacity to aspire: culture and the terms of recognition”, in Culture and Public Action, Vijayendra Rao and Micheal Walton (eds.), Standford University Press, 2004. Available from www.laboratorio-suigeneris.net/IMG/pdf/The_Capacity_to_Aspire_pre-pub_.pdf. For example, see Philippa Smales“Migrant women domestic workers and freedom of communication in Taiwan: a case for barrier-free access to mobile phones as a basic right”, Policy Brief for CITIGEN Asia Research Programme 2010-2012, IT for Change: Bengaluru, December 2011. Available from www.gender-iscitizenship.net/sites/default/files/citigen/CITIGEN_Policy_Brief%20_TT_Final_8Dec2011.pdf. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 19. Ibid., art. 25. Article 1 of both international covenants on human rights. 7