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The latest news from the International Council for Science.
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Welcome to the June edition of our newsletter, bringing you news and highlights from our activities since April.

This is the last time you will receive a newsletter from the International Council for Science (ICSU). At the end of this month, we will be merging with the International Social Science Council (ISSC) to become the International Science Council (ISC). Thank you for your support over the past years — and stay tuned as we launch our new logo and revised website on July 3rd.

This newsletter will continue as the ISC newsletter, so you will continue to receive updates as we launch our new portfolio of activities.
What's in this e-mail?
  1. The latest news from the International Council for Science
  2. Jobs at the Council and in the network
  3. News from our Regional Offices
  4. Upcoming events

News

An ICSU Electronic General Assembly gave final approval to the ICSU-ISSC merger... ICSU members voted unanimously to approve the formal merger treaty, putting the final piece of the puzzle into place on a merger that has been three years in the making. The treaty will come into force at the end of this month, making the International Science Council a reality.

...and you can still register for the launch event of the International Science Council in July. The new organization's birth will be celebrated with an International Science Day that will include keynotes by French mathematician and Fields Medal winner Cedric Villani. Esther Duflo, Ismail Serageldin and high-level representatives of UNESCO and the French government will also address the new Council's members. If you can't make it to Paris for the day, please tune in to the livestream on our Youtube channel — details will be available through our website.

You can sign up for a new ISC special newsletter on science at the UN… Called Science X HLPF, it will highlight ways for the scientific community to engage with the UN's sustainable development processes, especially around the High-Level Political Forum. This is part of the new Council's relaunch of its work at the UN as the organizing partner of the Science and Technology Major Group.

…and we've also submitted a position paper to HLPF that gathers input from more than 60 ICSU member and partner organizations. The HLPF will take place 9-18 July at the UN headquarters in New York. Its theme for 2018 is “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies.”

The 2018 UN Science, Technology and Innovation Forum took place in New York. The event, which brings together the scientific, technology, business and civil society communities with a common interest in making the SDGs a reality. CSU took part in a number of events during the two days.

The Review of IPBES, the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, has begun. Coordinated by ICSU, the Review will be conducted by an independent ten-member expert panel, co-chaired by Peter Bridgewater and Marina Rosales Benites. The panel will prepare a draft report by October 2018.

LIRA 2030 grantees participated in a number of events in South Africa.
On the occasion of the Seedbeds of Transformation conference, a group of 22 researchers took part in a week-long set of activities These included training events on inter- and trans-disciplinary research and a communications workshop with a specific focus on science communication tools and how to improve engagement with policymakers.

The ICSU World Data System will open an International Technology Office in Canada. To celebrate the creation of the ITO, which will be hosted by a consortium of three Canadian organizations, an inaugural workshop was hosted by Ocean Networks Canada at the University of Victoria on 28–29 April 2018. The goal of the workshop was to engage Canadian and international partners on the WDS-ITO vision and work programme.

Plenary sessions were announced for the World Social Science Forum. The ISSC's flagship event, this is the first time the Forum will be held under the auspices of the International Science Council.
Speakers this year include Kate Raworth, Craig Calhoun, Martin Rees, Partha Dasgupta. The conference takes place in Fukuoka, Japan, in September. Early bird registration ends 30 June.

Jobs at the Council and in the network

News from our Regional Offices

 

Latin America & the Caribbean

The ICSU Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) co-organized a workshop with the ICSU World Data System aimed at discussing scientific data management best practices. It successfully mapped initiatives that are either underway or in the process of being developed by research institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, their strengths and limitations, and new opportunities for collaboration. In addition, future trends and perspectives for scientific data systems, as well as criteria and standards for certification of data repositories, were discussed.

A meeting of ICSU's Regional Offices was held in Cartagena de Indias. The meeting coincided with the
23rd ICSU ROLAC Regional Committee Meeting (RCLAC23). The meeting aimed to inform regional offices and regional committee chairs about the approaching merger of ICSU and the ISSC and the high-level strategy of the International Science Council.

More news from our Regional Office for Latin America & the Caribbean
 

Asia & the Pacific

The ICSU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) together with IRDR ICoE-Taipei organized an "Advanced Institute" focusing on heat stress sensors, early warning and information technology. The AI was held at the Academy of Sciences located in Taipei and was attended by 17 participants from the region. The objective of this AI was to provide young to mid-career researchers and policy makers in the region with enhanced understanding, skills and practical knowledge to apply systems approach in DRR research focusing on heat stress.

During the AI participants were introduced to systems thinking modeling application. In a series of lectures and hands-on sessions, participants were trained in systems thinking, and how it can be used in multi-disciplinary research. Besides that, prominent speakers in heat stress and its affects on public health gave lectures on current research in the area, and how multi-disciplinary research is essential in producing better-informed actions and policies. Participants also had the opportunity to visit the Central Weather Bureau of Taipei.

At the end of the AI, participants were tasked with producing project proposals relating to studying heat stress using systems thinking in their respective countries. 4 seed grants are made available for the project proposals that will be selected.

ICSU ROAP held its 25th Regional Committee meeting in Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city in Mongolia on 7-8 June 2018. Professor Lourdes Cruz chaired the meeting of the Committee for the last time. The RCAP elected its new Chair, Professor Mitsuo Uematsu from the University of Tokyo. The Committee also selected four new RCAP members to replace the outgoing members who had completed their terms. The new members selected are Professor Frances Separovic from the University of Melbourne, Australia; Professor Tudev Gan-Erdene from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences; Prof Shih-Chun Candice Lung from the Academy of Sciences located in Taipei and Professor Rajeswari Raina from the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, (NISTADS). The names will be submitted to the ICSU Executive Board for its approval. An important side event held was the launch of Future Earth Mongolia. The launch was also attended by Professor Tetsuzo Yasunari, Director General of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) and previously a member of the Future Earth Science Committee.

More news from our Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
 

Africa

The ICSU Regional Office for Africa (ROA) participated in the 8th African Unity for Rennaisance Conference and Africa Day Expo. The event took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 – 25 May 2018. The event concluded with an Outcome Statement addressed to the governments and policy makers of African countries, alerting them to their responsibilities towards attaining the Africa’s industrialization in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The ICSU Regional Office for Africa also participated in the conference Seedbeds of Transformation: the role of science with society and the SDGs in Africa. A central point in the discussions at the event was that for a Future Earth we need Africa to claim her power, identities and knowledge as central to sustainability and social justice on the continent. There was a strong sentiment that there is a need to transform the current world order that sees Africa more for what it is not, than what it is.

More news from our Regional Office for Africa

Events

18th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. Kyoto, Japan. 1-6 July 2018.

International Science Council Founding General Assembly. Paris, France. 3-5 July 2018.

International Science Day. Paris, France. 5 July 2018.

High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development of the United Nations. New York, USA. 9-18 July 2018.

EuroScience Open Forum 2018, Toulouse, France. 9-14 July 2018.

42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly and Associated Events. California, USA. 14-22 July 2018.

21st World Conference of Soil Science (WCSS). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 12-17 August 2018.

30th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Vienna, Austria. 20-31 August 2018.

19th International Microscopy Congress. Sydney, Australia. 9-14 September 2018.

World Social Science Forum 2018. Fukuoka, Japan. 25-28 September 2018.

International Data Week 2018. Gaborone, Botswana. 5-8 November 2018.

3rd International Conference on Science Advice to Governments. Tokyo, Japan. 6-7 November 2018.

15th International Conference on Urban Health. Kampala, Uganda. 26-30 November 2018.
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