Recognising the power of scientific collaboration in building bridges across the world, we see the need for multi-polar global approaches for conflict resolution, involving all major actors.
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are neighbouring countries in the Indian subcontinent, with a shared history and culture which provides a common platform for discourse between the people, and numerous instances of harmony exist, in spite of the political divide.
This GYA Working Group aims to look at scientific diplomacy between the three nations from South Asia. The aim of this project is to establish a core group of scientists in the three countries who would identify common problems that need attention of the scientific community in the three countries.
Watch the group’s video for the 2020 GYA e-Annual General Meeting here
This GYA Working Group, which started as an Incubator group in January 2018, will prepare a policy paper on how science diplomacy can benefit the three countries, and suggest a mechanism to enable the process of discussion. The core group will eventually work in collaboration with the young academies of the three nations to identify key issues and initiate the process of discussion that would help to address these issues for the common benefit of the nations.
In March, the group co-leads, Karishma Kaushik (India) and Syed Ghulam Musharraf (Pakistan), have published an article on the Science Policy Forum, on “Can digital tools and social media serve as the olive branch for science diplomacy in South Asia?”.
In July 2021, the Science Diplomacy Review published a report titled “Science Diplomacy for Scientific Advancement and Achievement of SDGs in Bangladesh“, based on the group’s December 2020 workshop.
In February 2021, group members published an article on “An overview of Science Diplomacy in South Asia” in Science & Diplomacy, highlighting the urgent need for research collaboration in the region. Read the article here.
The group organised a five-day online workshop on Science Diplomacy in South Asia in November and December 2020; see here for a brief report.
Group member Mahesh Kumar (India), who is the Chair of the Indian National Young Academy of Science, attended the launch of the National Young Academy of Bangladesh in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 16 June 2019.
The group have published an Editorial in Science on “Science in South Asia“.
