This year’s UN Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Forum provided the International Science Council (ISC) with a valuable platform to amplify the voice of science in global sustainable development discussions. With an active delegation and contributions across multiple sessions, the ISC helped bring scientific expertise to bear on some of the most pressing global challenges.
Over the course of the Forum, ISC representatives took part in several official sessions.
In Session 2: Advancing Science, Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality, Dr. Rita Orji spoke on behalf of the ISC’s Expert Panel on Gender Equality in Scientific Organizations. She stressed the importance of robust data and institutional accountability in addressing the persistent underrepresentation of women in science leadership roles. Drawing on the ISC’s ongoing global surveys, she emphasized that structural barriers – not a lack of talent – continue to hinder women’s advancement.
In Session 3: Leveraging Science to Conserve, Restore and Sustainably Use the Ocean and Coastal Ecosystems, Dr. Kwame Adu Agyekum of the ISC Ocean Expert Group spoke about the role of science in supporting ocean sustainability. The ISC expert group has recently released a high-level briefing on science-based priorities to guide discussions at the upcoming UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3), set to take place in Nice in June.
Morgan Seag, the ISC’s Senior Representative to the UN System, also spoke during a special event marking ten years of the STI Forum. Reflecting on the ISC’s engagement since 2015, she outlined future priorities, including the need to showcase science’s impact through case studies, engage diverse and early-career scientists, and promote open, transdisciplinary exchange between science and policy communities.
The ISC was also involved in a number of side events.
Highlights included the launch of a joint report on strategic foresight in the Global South, developed with the UN Futures Lab, and the panel Leveraging AI to Accelerate Sustainable Development and the SDGs. In the panel, the ISC emphasized both the promise and risks of AI, highlighting the need for transdisciplinary approaches and inclusive governance. The Council also introduced its policy guide on rapidly evolving technologies and presented a global initiative to build AI capacity in the Global South, supported by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC–CRDI).
In a separate panel co-hosted by UNESCO and the ITU, the ISC shared updates on its Science Missions for Sustainability initiative – a transformative model aligned with the goals of the Science Decade, designed to break silos and foster co-produced, transdisciplinary research that delivers actionable knowledge for sustainable development. Twelve pilot missions are under way, supporting goals such as open science, inclusive innovation systems, and SDG-targeted research.
Finally, the ISC also contributed to two events via the Group of Friends on Science for Action, co-chaired by the Permanent Representatives of Belgium, India and South Africa to the UN, and actively supported by the ISC and UNESCO as joint Secretariat. The Group issued a statement at a side event on quantum science and resilience, with technical inputs from the ISC, and partnered with UNESCO for a discussion on science diplomacy.
Picture by Morgan Seag, International Science Council.
Read more about UN and global policy processes 
Read more about Advancing gender equality in scientific organizations 
Read more about Rethinking ocean science for a more sustainable future 
Read more about Closing the action gap with inclusive, science-based ocean governance 
Read more about Informing ocean solutions with integrated, co-produced science: New ISC policy brief for UNOC-3 
