International Conference
on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS)

The International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS) is a series of conferences founded in 1972 by Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Rev. Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. The founders observed that even as the scientific community was engaged in searching for academic truth, the scientific enterprise was becoming fragmented into progressively narrow subdisciplines that were increasingly isolated from one another. Therefore, ICUS was developed as an international forum dedicated to the multidisciplinary exchange of views on significant issues of worldwide concern. This series strove to draw scientists and their work together, centering on absolute values—that is, values that benefit all of humanity. At that time, the sponsoring organization was the International Cultural Foundation.

The first in this series, ICUS I, was held in New York City. It had 20 participants from eight countries and diverse scientific disciplines. On that foundation, subsequent meetings grew remarkably, in terms of the number of participants and their level of expertise. The disciplinary representation extended from the natural sciences to the social sciences and the humanities. By the year 2000, when ICUS XXII was held, more than 2,000 scientists from around the globe, including over 30 Nobel laureates, had participated and contributed enduring work, which became available through published proceedings, topical books, and refereed papers. The meetings were held in 13 major cities of the world.

By the 1990s, scientific endeavors were becoming increasingly interdisciplinary and collaborative, and the urgency of the first concern of ICUS had passed. After ICUS XXII, the Founders turned their attention to other pressing matters concerning international conflicts arising from religious, racial, cultural, and ideological disparities that led to much suffering.

Unfortunately, these problems were accompanied by a steep rise in environmental degradation, threatening our future well-being. Recognizing these challenges, Rev. Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon reconvened ICUS in 2017. Since then, ICUS has been sponsored by HJIFEP to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on various approaches to resolving environmental problems such as pollution, resource depletion, loss of biodiversity, waste disposal, and climate change, among others. However, these conferences are not meant to be just an academic exercise, but they are intended to provide pathways toward the implementation of solutions that can restore the health of our planet and alleviate human suffering.

As ICUS has been gathering leading scientists who then share their cutting-edge knowledge, HJIFEP has been publishing the proceedings of each conference and distributing them worldwide to researchers, scholars, policy makers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and educators, thus enhancing global awareness of the impending issues and what we can do to preserve and protect the Earth and its inhabitants.

A Brief Narrative History of ICUS
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ICUS Legacy: 1972 - 2000
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