UNESCO to decide on creating Mendeleev prize in November

PARIS. KAZINFORM The UNESCO Executive Board will submit a proposal to the UNESCO General Conference due in November to establish a prize in the area of fundamental research to commemorate renowned Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, a source in the UNESCO Secretariat told TASS on Tuesday.

«On Monday, the Executive Board adopted this proposal and decided to recommend the General Conference to establish a Dmitri Mendeleev prize,» a high-placed Secretariat employee said. «Now it is up to the General Conference session, which will take place in Paris on November 12-27 and is expected to be attended by almost 200 countries,» the source underlined, TASS reports.

In September, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told a meeting with Nobel laureates, heads of chemical associations and representatives of Russian and international scientific organizations that Russia had filed a proposal to UNESCO to create a Mendeleev prize for young scientists.

The UN General Assembly designated 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mendeleev's discovering the periodic law. UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay officially launched the International Year of the Periodic Table at a ceremony in Paris in January.

The International Year of the Periodic Table is held under UNESCO’s auspices in many countries around the world — Russia, France, Spain, Sweden, Japan and others. As part of the International Year, Russia holds more than 500 scientific and educational events to attract school children, students and youngsters to science and its achievements.