PROJECT

IAP at the World Science Forum 2024

The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) played a key role in the World Science Forum (WSF), which took place from 20 to 23 November 2024, in Budapest, Hungary. As an essential platform for global dialogue on science policy and international cooperation, the WSF is an unparalleled opportunity for IAP and other members of the global scientific community to discuss matters relating to this year’s theme: “The science and policy interface at the time of global transformations”. IAP organised two sessions and a pre-event workshop in collaboration with the Global Young Academy (GYA). The IAP Co-President Peggy Hamburg was among the speakers, bringing insights into pressing topics related to science, policymaking and risk. Read all about our sessions here and watch the video recordings here.

• IAP-GYA ECR workshop: Wednesday, 20 November 2024 (by invitation only),
• Plenary session II – RISK ASSESSMENT – Weighing Risk in Policymaking: Thursday, 21 November 2024, (Featuring IAP Co-president, Peggy Hamburg),
• Thematic session II/a – How Can Policy Address Health Impacts of Climate Change? Science, Uncertainty and Risk: Thursday, 21 November 2024,
• Thematic session IV/b – Education for Sustainable Development: Friday, 22 November 2024.

 PROGRAMME

IAP Webinar Series: Upcoming sessions and past recordings

The IAP Webinar Series continues to bring critical global issues to the forefront. The recording of our most recent webinar, Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences: A Call for Global Stakeholder Engagement, is now available on the IAP website and YouTube channel. This webinar highlighted strategies to uphold academic integrity and drive reforms against predatory practices, featuring experts from the RESCUE consortium.
Looking ahead, don’t miss our upcoming webinar on The Pact for the Future: Implications for Global Scientific Collaboration, scheduled for 10 December 2024. This interactive session co-organised with the International Science Council (ISC), will unpack the outcomes of the recent UN Summit of the Future and explore the role of science in addressing global challenges.
Read about the IAP Webinar Series here and watch all previous recordings here.

PROGRAMME

Science Education Programme: IAP at ISSE 2024 in Sicily

As part of its Science Education Programme, IAP contributed to the International School of Science Education (ISSE), which recently resumed its activities in Erice, Sicily (Italy), following a hiatus prompted by the pandemic. The 2024 session took place from 19 to 22 October and brought together educators, researchers and international networks, including IAP, to explore innovations in molecular biology education and inquiry-based science education (IBSE). Read more here.

PROGRAMME

IAP Young Physician Leaders (YPL)

The 2024 edition of the IAP Young Physician Leaders (YPL) Programme brought together 21 emerging healthcare leaders from across the globe for an intensive leadership workshop held at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) Berlin. On 11-12 October, the workshop marked the first step in a transformative journey for the participants, focusing on leadership skills, sustainability and the future of global health. Following this, the YPL cohort participated in the World Health Summit (WHS) in Berlin (13-15 October), where they engaged with global leaders on pressing health challenges, and shared insights on healthcare leadership during a dedicated session that they prepared in 48 hours.

IAP Board & Advisory Committee meeting convened in Malaysia

IAP held its annual governance meeting on 7-8 October 2024, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia hosted by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM). The agenda featured updates from the IAP Board, Advisory Committee and various programmatic and operational committees focusing on capacity building, policy advice and communication efforts. Regional network representatives also shared insights into their activities and contributions to the IAP. Read more here.

IAP at the Baku Climate Action Week

Dr. Robin Fears, IAP consultant on Biosciences, visited the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences as part of his participation in the Baku Climate Action Week (BCAW) 2024. This visit coincided with the Academy’s recent acceptance as a provisional member of the IAP, marking an important moment in the institution’s growing international collaboration. Read more here.

IAP co-organising the first International Urban Health Summit

IAP is collaborating with the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW), the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina, and the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities to co-host the International Urban Health Summit (IUHS). Supported by the Volkswagen Foundation, the IUHS will take place from 9-11 April 2025 at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, Germany. The summit will convene German and international urban health experts, early-career researchers, urban planners and other decision-makers, heads of non-governmental organisations as well as relevant citizen initiatives, with the aim of identifying best practices for urban health and mapping out routes to better health for urban populations around the world. Read more here.

Former IAP Co-president, Mohammed Hassan, Calls to Restore Internet Access in War-Torn Sudan

The editorial published in Nature on 15 October 2024, authored by former IAP co-President Mohamed H. A. Hassan, now president of the Sudanese National Academy of Sciences, highlights the urgent need to restore internet access in Sudan amidst ongoing civil conflict and calls for what is termed “humanitarian connectivity”. The editorial resonates with the mission of IAP, which advocates for the global scientific community’s role in supporting scientists, engineers and medical doctors whose careers have been interrupted by war. Through the collaborative Science in Exile project, IAP aims to coordinate national, regional and international support for refugee and displaced scientists. Read more here.

IAP endorses the UN strategic plan for IDSSD 2024-2033

The IAP is proud to announce its endorsement of the United Nations’ strategic plan for the newly proclaimed International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (2024–2033). The Decade, which was launched by the United Nations General Assembly on 25 August 2023, marks a global initiative led by UNESCO to harness the power of science in achieving sustainable development across the globe. The plan was endorsed by the Executive Committee of the Science Decade in early September 2024. Read more here.

Call for Articles on Decarbonising African Public Transport

IAP and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) invite researchers, industry experts and policymakers to contribute to a special issue of African Transport Studies, focusing on the electrification of public transport across Africa. This special issue, “Planning for the Electrification of Transport in Africa,” addresses the urgent need for decarbonising Africa’s public transport systems as a key step toward a sustainable, low-emission future. Deadline is 30 June 2025. Read more here.

News from IAP member academies and networks

Académie des Sciences

The Académie des Sciences (Institut de France) is organising an engaging talk with climate scientist Sandrine Bony, a leading CNRS researcher. The event will take place on 10 December 2024 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM at the Grande Salle des Séances in Paris. Dr. Bony’s talk is titled How do clouds respond to greenhouse gases and what impact does this have on global warming? Dr. Bony, draws on her expertise in climate dynamics and findings from tropical field campaigns. Register here.

Academy of Medical Sciences UK 

The recording of the Academy of Medical Sciences & The Lancet International Health Lecture 2024, “Climate crisis, cities and health“, is now available to watch online. The lecture was delivered by Professor Mark J Nieuwenhuijsen, a world-leading environmental, epidemiology and health impact expert from ISGlobal. It was followed by panel reflections from Dr Marina Romanello, the Lancet Countdown, Dr Maria Neira, WHO, and Professor Niheer Dasandi, University of Birmingham. Read more here.

Academia Nacional de Medicina (ANM)

Insightful presentations from the “Young Scientists and the Future of Science in the G20” seminar, categorized by topic, have been made available on the IAP YouTube channel. Hosted by the Brazil National Academy of Medicine (ANM), Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on 3 July 2024, this event gathered prominent young scientists and esteemed figures such as Nobel laureate Richard Roberts and former Central Bank of Brazil President Arminio Fraga. The opening presentation was provided by Gustavo Gameiro, from ANM Brazil. Read more here.

African Academy of Sciences (AAS)

The African Academy of Sciences is convening its 15th General Assembly & Scientific Conference from 9-12 December 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria. The conference will bring together distinguished scholars, policy makers and Africa’s global diaspora for insightful discussions under the theme: Empowering and Advancing Africa’s Scientific Enterprise. Read more here.

Australian Academy of Sciences

The Pacific Academy of Sciences, hosted by the Australian Academy of Science, was officially launched by Samoan Prime Minister Hon. Fiame Dr. Naomi Mata’afa at a Commonwealth Heads of Government side event in Samoa, aiming to foster scientific collaboration across the Pacific. Led by inaugural President Professor Teatulohi Matainaho, a prominent researcher in traditional medicine, the Academy seeks to advance natural and social sciences, technology, and indigenous knowledge to benefit the Pacific Islands. Read more here.

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS)

The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) has embarked on two major assessments in 2024: fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and anti-microbial resistance / anti-microbial use in food producing animals (AMR/AMU). This follows the release of the CAHS assessments on autism and on health human resources. The 2024-2025 CAHS Board of Directors was also pleased to welcome new Fellows in 2024. For more information on CAHS’ work, please contact its CEO, Serge Buy, at sbuy@cahs-acss.ca.

European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC)

EASAC launched a new project on “AI in Healthcare” in collaboration with the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM), exploring how the added benefits of AI-incorporated health products and services can be evaluated for adoption into healthcare use. EASAC has also developed a special website highlighting its science-for-policy initiatives and publications, with the main purpose of briefing newly elected Members of the European Parliament about EASAC’s work and mission.

Georgian National Academy of Sciences

The Georgian National Academy of Sciences is proud to announce that a new bacteriophage of Xanthomonas vesicatoria has been isolated and studied by a team of Georgian scientists. This unique genome of the phage gave basis for the the introduction of a new taxon by the International Committee of the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Therefore, genus Dibbivirus is named after the Institute where this phage was isolated. Read more here.

Global Young Academy (GYA)

In October, the Global Young Academy (GYA) Women in Science WG, organised a two-part online workshop “Inclusive Leadership for Women in Science”, designed in partnership with the facilitation team at Inclusive Innovation, and enabled through a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The workshops built on past GYA Inclusive Leadership workshops, which focused on empathy, (self-)awareness and inclusive practices in research contexts. With a particular focus on leadership for Women in Science, these interactive workshops aimed to empower women in research, and all those interested in supporting them. Watch the recordings here.

National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka (NASSL)

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami and just a few years after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. A cross-cutting concern is whether complex societies are resilient against High Impact Low Occurrence (HILO) disasters. The National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka (NASSL) carried out an AASSA/IAP funded study to explore this topic, collecting data from six AASSA academies across the region (Japan, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and organising a workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 5-7 September 2024. Read more here.

Network of African Science Academies (NASAC)

The 2024 Annual Meeting of African Science Academies (AMASA 2024) Conference and NASAC General Assembly Meeting has been hosted by the Algerian Academy of Science and Technology (AAST) at the International Conference Center (CIC) in Algiers, Algeria on 26-28 November 2024. The theme of the Conference was “Resources, Science and Technology for Development in Africa”. Read more here.

The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)

From 2–6 September 2024, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Climate and Environment Sciences (ICCES) hosted the ‘International Training Workshop for Climate Action’, with 20 women scientists from developing countries discussing the results of their work. The event was held at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing, China. Of the 20 scientists who gave a presentation, 15 were the recipient of a TWAS-Elsevier Foundation Project Grants for Gender Equity and Climate Action, a capacity-building programme that TWAS and The Elsevier Foundation launched in 2022. Read more here.

U.S. National Academy of Sciences

In the wake of the U.S. election, NAS President Marcia McNutt has authored an editorial in Science stressing the apolitical nature of science and emphasizing that science, although not the only consideration, remains vital to informing public policy. Rebuilding public trust in science in an era of political divisiveness is critical. Read more here.

Young Academy of Norway

Applications are open for the prestigious Letten Prize 2025, welcoming young researchers under 45 whose work addresses critical global challenges in health, development and environmental sustainability. Jointly established in 2018 by the Letten Foundation and the Young Academy of Norway, the Letten Prize celebrates significant interdisciplinary research with societal impact, awarding a prize of 2.5 million NOK (approx. 240,000 EUR / 235,000 USD). Deadline is 6 February 2025. Read more here.

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