IAP and the InterAcademy Council (IAC) are co-sponsoring regional workshops, in collaboration with regional academy networks, to address issues and recommendations of IAC Studies. A total of six IAP/IAC regional workshops have been implemented by IAP's regional networks since 2008 with the aim to disseminate at a regional level the recommendations of the IAC Studies . +++++++++++++++++++++++
Regional workshops... in 2010
The NASAC IAP/IAC Regional Workshop on the Recommendations of the IAC report, “Lighting the Way Toward a Sustainable Energy Future”, focusing on Jatropha curcas-derived biofuel as a renewable energy source, took place from 22-23 February 2010, in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).
The aims of the workshop were to:
The final report and recommendations are now available HERE (pdf file). For information, contact: j.olang@aasciences.org
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Regional Workshops implemented in 2009 ... The NASAC IAP/IAC Workshop on the Recommendations of the IAC Study “Women for Science”, hosted by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), took place from 30 Nov. -1 Dec. 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya. The two-day workshop hosted 20 participants including policy makers from 3 different regions of Africa.
The objective of the two-day workshop was to present the IAC report on Women for Science, published in 2006, whose mandate was to propose what academies should do to remedy the widespread underrepresentation of women in science and technology (S&T).
The workshop laid out women’s perceptions and experiences and identified barriers to the advancement of women in science. It was noted that progress has been made especially with regard to women’s educational achievements in science subjects. In the Arab world for instance, women have shown remarkable progress and taken the lead in SET. The reforms that women are now making will support further progress at all levels within schools, colleges and higher education institutions. Women can and must, however, overcome cultural and other barriers that still exist in their career advancement both in public and private sectors, working together with employers and with the education sector to identify ways and embed best practices such as role modelling and mentorship programmes.
The full report and recommendations can be downloaded HERE. For additional information, contact: j.olang@aasciences.org
NASIC International Conference on Gender Participation in the Development of Science, Dhaka, 14 -15 November 2009, hosted by the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences. Participants from Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Uganda as well as nearly 300 women scientists from Bangladesh attended and discussed the status of women in science education at primary, seconday and higher level in different countries and region and ways to improve methods of science education, and the building of scientific careers.
Break-out sessions took place and a number of recommendations were made at the close of the Conference. For the full report and details, download the pdf file HERE. For information, contact: naiyyum@bas.org.bd
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The IANAS “Women for Science Symposium” was hosted by the Mexican Academy of Sciences in Mexico City on April 20-21, 2009. The symposium was organized with the support of IAP, the Mexican National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) and ICSU's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ICSU-LAC). In line with the recommendations of the IAC Study "Women for Science" (2006) the aim of the workshop was to evaluate the reasons behind the regional low representation of women in science and engineering considered as a major hindrance to regional capacity building in science and technology. Discussions focused on the analysis - through a regional perspective - of political, legislative and cultural factors limiting and/or encouraging the access of women to science and technology; successful experiences favoring gender equity in research and development; and the elaboration of a set of actionable recommendations to be addressed to the Science and Engineering Academies in the region aiming inclusion and gender mainstreaming in the Americas.
31 participants from 16 countries from academia, government, international organizations and the private sector attended, from the North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean region. The final report will be available shortly. The agenda, list of participants, presentations are available from the IANAS website at: http://www.ianas.org/mexico_en.asp
2008 ...
The Interamerican Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS), with the support of IAP and in partnership with the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Argentina and the Argentinean Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, organized the IANAS Workshop "Toward a Sustainable Energy Future", which was held at the headquarters of the Argentinean Center of Engineers, in Buenos Aires, on 30-31 October 2008. The main objective of this workshop was to present to key stakeholders in Latin America and the Caribbean region the conclusions and recommendations of the IAC Report "Lighting the Way: Toward a Sustainable Energy Future", to review the energy-related issues and challenges for the Americas, and discuss the strategies and mechanisms needed for regional implementation of the actions needed to effect a transition to a more sustainable way of life.
The workshop brought together 130 high-level experts from 15 different countries, covering North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean region. The agenda, list of participants, final report, and copies of the presentations can be viewed on the IANAS website at: http://www.ianas.org/BuenosAires_en.asp. For more information, contact: mcbs@abc.org.br
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The Association of the Academies of Science in Asia (AASA) organized an international workshop on "Sustainable Energy Development in Asia" from 17-18 November 2008 in Beijing, China, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) as part of the AASA’ “Sustainable Development in Asia” project. The event was organized by AASA and CAS, hosted by Institute of Electrical Engineering of CAS and sponsored by IAP.
Participants included 26 representatives of 10 member academies and two observers. Participants shared information about the energy situation in their own country and addressed the common challenges in Asia in line with the recommendations from the IAC Report "Lighting the Way: Toward a Sustainable Energy Future" (2007) . Recommendations were also made on how to prepare a consultative report on sustainable energy development in Asia. For the workshop report and more details on the event, see : http://www.aasa-net.org/ (follow link to "Meetings" ref. no. 35). For more information, contact: aasa@kast.or.kr
Follow this LINK to two more regional workshops to be implemented in 2010.