KUALA LUMPUR, 6 October 2023 – The Global Knowledge Dialogue (GKD), an initiative by the International Science Council (ISC), will serve to strengthen the voice of science in the Asia and Pacific Region and work towards developing the actionable pathways that advance science as a global public good.
Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia, The Honourable Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, in his officiating speech for the GKD 2023, said, “Strategic alliance and collaboration help to create global solutions for global challenges, urging partners to make continuous contributions through international cooperation. GKD is a valuable platform for policymakers, scientists and citizen scientists to discuss integrating science into developing a more comprehensive action plan.”
“In a globalized world, we find ourselves facing challenges, and no single society holds all the answers. This calls for a mutual exchange of knowledge. We must strive to develop a mutually comprehensible language that allows us to explore how similar principles and shared values influence the diversity of our system of thought and social construct,” remarked the President of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Academician Datuk Dr Tengku Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen.
Meanwhile, the President of the International Science Council Sir Peter Gluckman said, “It is an honour to be back in Malaysia, along with many colleagues and friends from the science communities of the Asia-Pacific region. In order to meet the global Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we need immediate, equitable shifts towards sustainability in every field, from science and policy to business and community. The UN has just declared the decade of science for sustainability, and the ISC is fully committed to working with UNESCO and other science organisations to ensure meaningful progress.”
The ISC held its first in a series of GKD in Cape Town, South Africa, on 7 December 2022. The second series will be held during the 2023 International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference (IGEM), with pre-events held on 5 October 2023. More than 140 Member representatives from 30 countries attended the dialogue.
The Director of the International Science Council Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific hosted at the Australian Academy of Science, Dr Petra Lundgren, said, “The Global Knowledge Dialogue will kickstart a new era of scientific collaboration in the region by bringing together some of the brightest minds who will build actionable pathways for some of our most difficult challenges. I’m excited about working with the region’s scientific academies, associations, and institutions to build a global voice for science in our dynamic region.”
GKD 2023 will focus on how to progress the role of science in achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific. The outcomes from the various sessions will inform programmes and activities of the ISC Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific and help to identify regional priorities, opportunities, and challenges with a particular focus on how to fund and undertake science for sustainability now and into the future.
One such opportunity is through the ISC’s Global Commission on Science Missions for Sustainability new report, recently launched at the United Nations High Level Political Forum. The report, Flipping the Science Model: A Roadmap to Science Missions for Sustainability, serves as a call, inviting all stakeholders, both familiar and unconventional, to unite with the science community in this endeavour of collectively catalysing science’s power to drive transformative action towards a more sustainable world for all.
The ISC, through the voices of its Members, has embarked on an ambitious schedule of GKD, which started with the African scientific community in 2022 at the World Science Forum and will continue through 2023 in Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024.
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Joint Press Release issued by:
MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION MALAYSIA
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES MALAYSIA
AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE COUNCIL
6 October 2023
Contact:
Alison Meston, Communications Director
+33 6 73 93 86 65 (Whatsapp)
alison.meston@council.sciecne