The Conference aims to give visibility to and raise awareness of the value of scientific research and innovation in the fight against poverty and social exclusion. The topic of the conference covers multiple facets, some as urgent as global access to innovative medical technologies and medicines and the fight against the digital gap, but also an understanding of the social dynamics that cause poverty and the mechanisms to create and maintain economically sustainable communities, without overlooking how to involve all the players in this challenge and the promotion of social entrepreneurship.Therefore, the Conference will include both thematic sessions (food and nutrition; dynamics of poverty; technological gap; energy; environment and climate change; water and sanitation; health) and cross-disciplinary sessions (stakeholders involvement; education and training; innovative solutions; gender issues; social sciences and poverty; sustainable business).Eminent figures in each of these areas will submit the conclusions of the thematic sessions to debates open to all the participants. The Conference conclusions will have two objectives: convey to society clear messages and proposals for future action and include in the political agenda the social dimension of scienceThe Conference will focus on what can Science do to fight poverty in the World, and will pay special attention on how European and National RTD an Innovation policies should be designed and adapted so that they reflect a responsible compromise of Science Programmes towards fighting poverty and exclusion.The Conference aims at providing a concrete input for policy action to the European research agenda, and in particular to ERA development. A set of Conclusions or Recommendations will be bringing to the Competitiveness Council (May 2010)