COVID-19 Global Science Portal
The ISC has launched an online hub for scientific commentary and analysis on responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic from its community of members and partners. The virus outbreak, and responses to it, have focussed attention worldwide on the interaction between science, experts, society, policy making and politics, and have highlighted the vital importance of international scientific collaboration and open, accessible and reliable sources of information. The ISC's portal shares scientific commentary and analysis and provides access to information on various initiatives, highlighting the scale and scope of response, and encouraging ISC members and partners to collaborate and share best practices during this global emergency.
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On 8 March we celebrated International Women's Day by highlighting initiatives being taken by academies, institutions and individuals around the world to ensure equal representation of women in science. Here's a list of eight pieces you can listen to and read to find out more about what ISC members, such as the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and International Political Science Association, are doing to tackle the kinds of negative experiences reported by women in the recent Gender Gap in Science project report.
The ISC’s new podcast, “ ISC Presents: Women in Science” continues the celebration of women in science. By bringing together diverse voices of women scientists in STEM from around the world, we explore the themes surrounding gender equality in science systems, breaking systemic barriers and celebrating the achievements of women in science. |
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From our community
The deadline for the open call for expressions of interest to host the World Data System International Programme Office has been extended to 31 May in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. The current hosting agreement with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Tokyo, Japan, ends in March 2021. In light of this, the ISC and the World Data System Science Committee (WDS-SC) invite Expressions of Interest to become a new host. Find out more on our website.
The 2020 Ethnografilm Festival, due to take place in Paris in late April, has been postponed in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. For the latest news and updates on the festival, see the Ethnografilm website.
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Updates for ISC members
The ISC members' community is growing, and we recently welcomed the Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa (SASA) and Bilim Akademisi to the Council's membership. You can find out more about our new members and their activities in two brief interviews published on our website with representatives from the Society for the Advancement of Science in Africa and from Bilim Akademisi.
 We are delighted to welcome Anne Thieme to the team at ISC headquarters in Paris. Anne joins the ISC as Membership Liaison Officer, and will act as the main contact point for all ISC members and members-to-be. Anne is particularly passionate about environmental science and conservation, and joins the ISC from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). You can find out how to get in touch with Anne and other members of staff on our website.
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Reading recommendations
It Takes a World to End a Pandemic: Scientific Cooperation Knows No Boundaries - Fortunately
Mahlet Mesfin, Foreign Affairs, 21 March 2020
The Conservation Revolution: Radical ideas for saving nature beyond the Anthropocene, is a newly published book by Bram Büscher and Robert Fletcher, who are project leaders for the Transformations to Sustainability (T2S) programme CON-VIVA: Convivial Conservation project. A blog piece about the book is available on the T2S website.
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From our regional offices
The ISC Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific will shortly organize a webinar involving all ISC members in the Asia Pacific region.
The Webinar will focus on the ISC Action Plan and the future of the ISC Regional Structure. It will be an excellent opportunity for members in the region to connect with the regional office and with each other. For more information, please contact Sufyan Aslam.
The ISC Regional Office for Africa participated in the Sixth Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), held in Zimbabwe in late February. The Forum is an inter-governmental platform that meets to review progress, share experiences and lessons learned and build a consensus on key recommendations to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and of Agenda 2063. The overall objective of this Forum was to conduct a regional follow-up and review of progress made, facilitate peer learning and advance transformative solutions and actions to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 goals. Regional Director of ISC ROA, Daniel Nyanganyura, represented the ISC at regional and global levels in the Science and Technology Major Group.
The ROA office was recently tasked with managing nominations for the Steering Committee of the Future Earth Regional Office for Southern Africa (FEROSA). A steering committee of nine members has now been appointed.
The ISC Action Plan was presented at the Fourteenth African Young Graduates and Scholars Conference (AYGS 2020), held at the beginning of March in Gaborone, Botswana. The conference, which was held under the theme “Innovating for Sustainable Development: The Research-Policy-Practice Nexus”, examined the theories, rationales and practices of innovations in the context of sustainable development in Africa.
Catch up with all the latest from our Regional Offices on our website.
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Meet the Council and its members at these upcoming events...
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Webinar: Transforming science communication for transformations to sustainability
16:00 – 17:00 CEST/14:00 – 15:00 UTC/GMT
15 April 2020
Find out more
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IPSA 26th World Congress of Political Science
Lisbon, Portugal
25-29 July 2020
Find out more
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As you will no doubt be aware, many scientific congresses have been postponed in light of the evolving COVID-19 outbreak. Information shared in this newsletter is correct at the time of writing, but you are advised to refer to the latest guidance from conference organizers before making any plans.
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