Third ISC General Assembly

Please pick up your name badge at the registration desk located in front of the Auditorium at the OCEC.

By invitation only.

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 3

For ISC Category 1 Member delegates only.

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 10

Contact: Ehud Keinan

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Co-Chairs

• Christoph Sorger, Secretary General, International Mathematical Union
• Edoardo Costantini, President, International Union of Soil Sciences
• Ehud Keinan, President, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
• Silvina Ponce Dawson, President, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics

Themes for discussion

• Free circulation of scientists and problems with visas: In recent times the scientists from certain countries and territories are increasingly denied entry by the host countries from attending international conferences sponsored by various International Scientific Unions. IUPAP will bring a proposal of a resolution on the matter to be presented for the consideration of the ISC GA.
• The International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development: The participants will discuss possible collaborative actions to be carried out in view of the declaration of 2024-2034 as the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD). More specifically, the possibility of writing joint reports on matters related to some of the UN SDGs will be discussed.
• The future of ISC and its relationship with the international scientific unions: The participants will discuss what the expectations of the Unions are regarding the future of their relationship with the ISC in view of the new strategic plan and the renewal of the ISC’s governing board.
• Sharing information about the structure and administration of the Unions: The information collected so far among the Unions will be shared. The experience liaising with other organizations and the problems that the Unions currently have will be discussed.

For ISC Category 2 Member delegates only.

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Junior Ballroom

Contact: Marta Farsang

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Co-Chairs

• Ekanem Braide, President, The Nigerian Academy of Science
• Marta Farsang, Director of International Relations, National Research Council Canada
• Mark Wuddivira, President, Caribbean Academy of Sciences

Agenda

1. Best practice exchange – Member experiences
Moderator: Ekanem Ikpi Braide

• Maximizing representation from national/regional science communities
• Canada (Dr. Shannon Quinn, Secretary General, National Research Council Canada) (📃 view slides)
• Carribean (Mark Wuddivira, President, Caribbean Academy of Sciences) (📃 view slides)
• China (Mr. Qin Jiuyi, Deputy Director General, China Center for International Science and Technology Exchange) (📃 view slides)
• Japan (Prof. Dr. Mitsuishi, President of the Science Council of Japan) (📃 view slides)
• United Kingdom (Ruth Cooper, Seior Policy Adviser, The Royal Society, UK) (📃 view slides)

• Maximizing Project impact
• Nigerian Academy of Science (Professor Abubakar Sambo, President Elect, Nigerian Academy of Science) (📃 view slides)

 2. Membership dues – critical aspect
Moderator: Marta Farsang

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) presentation of topics (Dr. Priya Bondre-Beil, International Affairs, International Organisations) (📃 view slides)

3. Future endeavours
Moderator: Mark Wuddivira

• Perspectives for the next years of the ISC Roaster of Experts (Michele Muccini, CNR Representative & Augusta Paci, CNR Vice-Representative)
• Strengthening networks, relationships, and collaborative programs/projects among Category 2 members, with a particular focus on cross-regional collaboration or between the Global North and Global South. (Dr. Wiparat De-Ong, Executive Director of NRCT, will provide an overview, followed by Assoc. Prof. Anak Khantachawana, NRCT Academic Advisory Committee)

For ISC Category 3 Member delegates only.

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 8

Contact: Gian Maria Greco

(📃 view slides)

Co-Chairs

• Gian Maria Greco, Chair, Marie Curie Alumni Association
• Sushil Kumar, Director of Research at the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of the South Pacific
• Yonglong Lu, President, Pacific Science Association/Past President, Scientific Committee of Problems of the Environment

For delegates of young academies and associations that are ISC Category 3 Members only.

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 9

Contact: Anna-Maria Gramatté, Senior Project Officer, Global Young Academy

Co-Chairs: Hiba Baroud, Executive Committee Member, Global Young Academy; Mostafa Moonir Shawrav, Executive Director, Marie Curie Alumni Association

Agenda

The Members Forum session will be an ideal opportunity for the Young Academies and Associations (YAAs) within the ISC to meet and get to know each other and their work. Discussions will focus on the international engagement of YAAs as well as current activities and projects.

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 2

Contact: Anne Thieme

For all delegates of organizations that are interested in learning more about ISC membership.

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Speakers

• Tour de table – introductions
• About the ISC – mission, vision, and membership value proposition, Salvatore Aricò, ISC CEO
• Opportunities for Members, membership categories and application process, Anne Thieme, ISC Membership Liaison Officer
• ISC funding sources and membership dues structure, Sarah Moore, ISC Operations Director

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 11

Contact: Vanessa McBride

For delegates of ISC Affiliated Bodies only.

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Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 3

Contact: Ronit Prawer

For members of the Advisory Council of the Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific only.

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Please feel invited to visit the ISC booth outside the Auditorium.

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 8

The session will present the activities carried out by the ISC RFP-LAC and will present the first draft of the new Regional Action Plan developed by the members of the Focal Point Liaison Committee. Additionally, a new proposal for the execution of the work plan activities will be presented including 5 working groups to which ISC members operating in the LAC region will be invited to participate. The objective of this session is to discuss objectives, identified scientific priorities, and receive feedback from regional members on the action plan proposed by the Liaison Committee.

Coordinator: Carolina Santacruz

Target audience: ISC Member representatives from the Latin America and the Caribbean region, open to all delegates

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Co-chairs: Ana Rada, Luis Sobrevia and Helena Groot

Speakers

• Helena Groot de Restrepo, ISC RFP-LAC Director
• Carolina Santacruz-Pérez, ISC RFP-LAC Senior Science Officer
• Luis Sobrevia, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee co-chair
• Ana Rada, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee co-chair
• German Gutiérrez, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee, IUPSys
• Silvina Ponce Dawson, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee, IUPAC
• Graciela Díaz de Delgado, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee, IUCr
• Elisa Reis, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee, ANPOCS
• Luisa Fernanda Echeverría-King, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee
• Carmen Samayoa, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee
• Dora Luz Florez, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee
• Daniel Peluffo, ISC RFP-LAC Liaison Committee

Background reading

• International Science Council’s Regional Focal Point for Latin America and the Caribbean (ISC RFP-LAC) regional action plan 2025

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 13+14

The African Union’s Agenda 2063 underscores the importance of education science and technology as a central pillar in the continent’s long-term vision for a more prosperous and unified Africa, driving forward the aspirations for inclusive growth and sustainable development for all. In a rapidly changing world, where technology, globalization, climate change, demographic and social dynamics are reshaping every aspect of our lives, education is undergoing a transformational change. Africa must rethink its higher education to be more inclusive, creative and innovative and embrace scientific excellence to address its development challenges and accelerate industrialisation for the Africa we want.

Over the years, the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) has embarked on research leaders’ programmes that provide vibrant pathways for research and innovation exchanges for early and mid-career researchers to advance sustainable and inclusive development, economic growth and job creation. Current research assessment methods for scientific excellence rely heavily on publication-based metrics as a proxy of excellence. However, these metrics often fail to recognise both the wide array of contributions made by researchers, and the (potential) impact of the research.

This workshop invites participants to reimagine the methods and processes by which research and researchers are evaluated, putting its focus on the impact of science and technology as a central pillar in the long-term vision for a more prosperous and unified Africa. It showcases the effort in rethinking higher education and research excellence for impact in two examples:

The AAS and its African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) collaborators will share insights of its equitable partnership program, the African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence (ARISE). ARISE is an innovative research flagship program of AAS-AU- EU inspired by the aspirations of the AU-EU High-Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology, and Innovation.

The Global Young Academy (GYA) will shed light into the work behind the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). CoARA is a global in scope collective of organisations committed to reforming the methods and processes by which research, researchers, and research organisations are evaluated.

Co-Chairs

• Dr. Peggy Oti-Boateng, Executive Director, AAS
• Beate Wagner, Managing Director, GYA

Speakers

• Lise Korsten, President, AAS
• Obed Ogega, Head of Programmes, AAS
• Nada Abdel Aziz, ARISE Grantee, Cairo University (TBC)
• Laurent Bochereau, Minister-Counsellor for STI, Delegation of the European Union to the African Union
• Carina Geldhauser, GYA working group scientific excellence
• Dékány Éva, Senior researcher, Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics and Eötvös University

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Junior Ballroom

Multiple ISC unions and associations are experiencing difficulty in retaining and recruiting dues-paying national members. The drop in membership has been accompanied by a decline in the breadth of geographic representation within Union membership, especially in the Global South, including Oceania. Funding agencies expect Unions to provide more persuasive justifications and cost-benefit analyses for national investment in Union dues. Questions are raised about the comparative value and effectiveness of traditional disciplinary scientific unions as opposed to international organizations organized around topics (e.g. climate, sea level rise, health, hazards).

Short presentations by the panellists will be followed by 20 minutes open discussion with the participants.

Coordinator: Priscilla Grew, IUGG Finance Committee

Chair: Renee Borges, Secretary-General, International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS)

Target audience: Scientific unions and association executive committee members, treasurers, finance committee members, national academy representatives, strategic planners

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 Panel

• Renee Borges, Secretary-General, International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) (📃 view slides)
• Mioara Mandea, President-Elect, and Niels Andersen, Treasurer, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (📃 view slides)
• Hassina Mouri, President, and David Cohen, Treasurer, International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) (📃 view slides)

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 9

We warmly invite Early- and Mid-Career Researchers, Young Academies, Young Scientific Groups, and ISC Members to participate in this roundtable discussion, co-hosted with the Global Young Academy. This event offers a platform for exchange, learning, and collaboration among young scientists, ISC members and the broader EMCR community. It also provides an opportunity for young scientists to come together, amplify their voices, and strengthen their representation in the ISC’s strategy, activities, and the global scientific community. Additionally, the event will include brief presentations from young scientific groups.

Coordinator: Gabriela Ivan

Target audience: Young Academies and Associations, ISC Members

(📃 view slides)

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 10

This roundtable dialogue will explore the possibility of creating a ‘brain trust’ of ISC Fellows that would frame and ask questions that motivate inter- and transdisciplinary research efforts on the critical challenges for the future of humanity. The session should produce: a list of Fellows interested in developing a transdisciplinary ‘brain trust’; a draft concept note on synergies and expectations among ISC Fellows; and an action plan for 2025.

Coordinators: Prof. Paul Arthur Berkman, Prof. Rana Dajani

Target audience: ISC Fellows (open to all delegates)

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 12

Realising the potential of science for sustainability will require effective knowledge management and sharing. Libraries have long provided a key infrastructure for doing this, both through their practical work to curate information and build catalogues, and through advocating for the change necessary to open up knowledge for all.

Thanks to this work, increasingly, the goal of globally connected information is coming into view. Yet this process is not necessarily simple. Choices need to be made, interests and values respected, and inclusion guaranteed. This session shares different perspectives from across the MENA region in particular about the key issues in delivering impact, equity and sustainability through scientific knowledge management, and invites perspectives and ideas from participants about priorities going forwards.

Target audience: Colleagues focusing on new ways of bringing together knowledge for sustainability, the open access community.

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Chair: Stephen Wyber, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

Speakers

• Monir Albatashi – profiling the Oman Research Repository
• Boshra Alnofli – driving open access and open science at Sultan Qaboos University Libraries
• Zuheir Bakleh – presenting work led by UNESCWA to develop a regional knowledge commons (remote)
• Alwaleed Alkhaja – Qatar National Library’s drive for open science (remote)
• Tatiana Usova – working across split campuses – the experience of Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar (remote)

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 4

Coordinator: Simon Hodson, CODATA

The major global scientific and human challenges of the 21st century – including climate change, sustainable development, and disaster risk reduction – can only be addressed through cross-domain research that seeks to understand complex systems through machine-assisted analysis at scale.

Our capacity for such analysis is currently constrained by limitations in our ability to access and combine heterogeneous data within and across domains. Sub-optimal data practices are a major and costly limiting factor on research: it is estimated that 80% of research expenditures are used to prepare inconsistent data for use.

This session will invite ISC members and partners to engage with the CODATA-led, ISC-endorsed WorldFAIR+ initiative to better enable the combination and use of data across disciplines.

Target audience: ISC Members, in particular those involved in interdisciplinary research; international scientific unions with standards, informatics and terminology projects; Affiliated bodies with data missions.

Speakers

• “Making data work for cross-domain grand challenges: WorldFAIR+“, Simon Hodson, Executive Director, CODATA
• “Chemistry and WorldFAIR+ – IUPAC making the central science available to other disciplines“, Richard Hartshorn, Professor, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand and CODATA Vice-President
• “Combining social science data for interdisciplinary research“, Steve McEachern, Director, UK Data Service and CODATA Officer
• “Addressing Interdisciplinary approach for tackling urban heat as a science mission“, Shaily Gandhi, Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher, Geosocial Artificial Intelligence Research Group, Interdisciplinary Transformational University, Linz, Austria and ISC Fellow
• “WorldFAIR+: How to get involved“, Simon Hodson, Executive Director, CODATA

Background reading

• About WorldFAIR+
• WorldFAIR: Continuing to transform data to tackle complex challenges in a follow-up project
• WorldFAIR+: making data work for cross-domain grand challenges

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Room 2

Coordinator: Zhenya Tsoy

Target audience: Delegates of the ISC Member organizations that are participating in the ISC Digital Journeys project.

The meeting is by invitation only.

Please feel invited to visit the ISC booth outside the Auditorium.

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Auditorium

🔴 View the recording

📃view slides

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Rose Garden

The ISC is inviting General Assembly delegates for an evening reception on 29 January from 18:30 – 19:30 at the Rose Garden of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC).

Location: Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), Auditorium

🔴 View the recording

• 📃View general slides
• 📃View the slides of the report from the ISC Regional Focal Point for Latin America and the Caribbean
• 📃 View the slides of the report from the ISC Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific
• 📃View the slides of the report from Future Africa