The GYA 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and International Conference of Young Scientists “Transformative and Inclusive Science for a Sustainable Future” took place from 7-10 May in Washington, D.C., United States.
Over 145 members, alumni and external partners of the GYA participated in various sessions of the week-long meeting, joined by over 60 members and alumni of the U.S. National Academies’ New Voices in Science, Engineering, and Medicine program, as well as locally based Mirzayan Fellows.
The meeting was hosted at the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), supported by a Local Organising Committee comprising GYA members in the United States, members of the New Voices program, and supporting NASEM staff.
An overview of the full programme can be viewed here, and an in-depth report will be published in the coming months.
Browse pictures from the event on GYA’s Flickr page.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The AGM is the most important event of the GYA and serves multiple functions for the member-led organisation. At the AGM opening session, GYA Co-Chair Priscilla Kolibea Mante (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana) and Acting Co-Chair Monika Kędra (Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland) were joined online by Co-Chair Felix Moronta Barrios (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Italy) to welcome all attending GYA members and alumni. With the opening of the AGM, outgoing GYA members officially became alumni and 44 new GYA members were inaugurated and welcomed to the GYA for five-year terms.
Additional AGM sessions throughout the week included the Activities Groups Fair, Working Group meeting times and General Assembly meetings, in which there was opportunity to discuss ongoing and future development of the organisation. Minutes of General Assembly sessions will be shared with all GYA members shortly.
During annual elections, GYA members elected 11 members to the 2024/25 Executive Committee (EC). With two outgoing Co-Chairs in 2024, two new Co-Chairs were elected to lead the EC and the GYA: Chandra Shekhar Sharma (Indian Institute of Technology, India) and Yensi Flores Bueso (University College Cork; University of Washington in Seattle, Ireland/United States).
International Conference of Young Scientists
The International Conference of Young Scientists was jointly organised with the US New Voices, around the topic “Transformative and Inclusive Science for a Sustainable Future”.
Panels and a Keynote talk highlighted the perspectives of science leaders of diverse origin, generations and discipline, focusing on the role of young scientist organisations and initiatives in the science-society interface, how to ensure that science both includes a diversity of perspectives and benefits all, and fostering innovative and transformative science. Read a narrative report on the Conference panels, and find links to watch recordings here.
Member lightning talks gave GYA and New Voices members an opportunity to present to one another about their research. Speakers presented for 3-4 minutes in short, engaging presentations, providing insights into a wide variety of disciplines and laying the foundations for future interdisciplinary cooperation. See the book of abstracts for over 60 Lightning Talks presented in 2024.
At a Gala Dinner hosted at the French Embassy to the United States, the Counselor for Science and Technology, Mireille Guyader welcomed guests, and former GYA Advisory Board member Bruce Alberts gave a key-note talk.
Additional special formats at the 2024 International Conference were the Science Diplomacy Breakfast, with a talk by Asmeret Asefaw Behre, and the US Partnerships Expo, which brought over 50 representatives of US-based research institutions and science policy organisations.
Workshops
This year, many GYA working groups led workshops throughout the week open to a wider audience, often in collaboration with other working groups or with external partners. In-depth reporting on workshops will be included in the forthcoming AGM & Conference Report.
- Science Leadership for New GYA Members. Over 30 new GYA members took part in a 2-day science leadership workshop, preparing them for their 5 year membership and practicing collective leadership skills. Read more about this capacity building workshop here.
- Reforming Research Assessment to Foster an Open and Socially Responsive Research Culture: a GYA-CoARA event. Collaboration between GYA Working Groups: Scientific Excellence, Trust in (Young) Scientists and Open Scienceand the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA).
- Advancing Biosecurity: Promoting Responsible Research through the Tianjin Biosecurity Guidelines. IAP-funded project “Advancing Biosafety”.
- Science Diplomacy Forum. Led by the Science Diplomacy in the Americas Working Group.
- Science Advice Masterclass: A Global Transdisciplinary Approach. Led by the Science Advice Working Group.
- AI Horizons: Empowering Sustainable Science for a Better Tomorrow. Science Education for Youth Working Group.
- How Might Diverse Minds Come Together to Build a Future People Want? A workshop on foundational values for collaboration and supporting at-risk scholars. Led by the GYA At-Risk Scholars Initiative and the Addressing Systemic Discrimination Working Group.
- Women in Science for Peace. Facilitated by Lindsay Burr, Yarbrough Group. Part of a workshop series organised by the GYA Women in Science Working Group and funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. Read impressions from this workshop here.
Partners and Sponsors
The GYA extends a warm thank you to the many individuals – staff at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and at the GYA, members and alumni of the New Voices and the GYA – as well as the cooperating partners, funding institutions and sponsors who made this event possible:
U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
New Voices in Science, Engineering and Medicine