Your input needed: the pandemic and Young Academies
Last month we asked Young Academies the world over to share their experiences after two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of interesting replies have come in, and we would be interested to hear back from more of you. We will then share feedback on trends and common challenges with all the Young Academies.
The GYA would be interested to hear how the various YAs the world over are dealing with the issues brought up by the pandemic, for example:
– Has your Young Academy been able to meet in-person at all, or have you found online meetings to be helpful/not helpful?
– Have you implemented a new policy, to extend membership in your YA for current members?
– Has the relationship with your senior academy changed, due to combined efforts to contribute to the national COVID-19 response?
– Has your YA become better connected and more known within your national public sphere, due to activities/advice on the COVID-19 pandemic?
Please share your thoughts and experiences on these or any other pandemic-related issues with Anna-Maria at the GYA Office, ideally by 15 March. We will then share general trends and common challenges (anonymously) with all the YAs. Thank you!
****************************
Joint Conference of the InterAcademy Partnership and the world’s Young Academies
We are pleased to announce the InterAcademy Partnership IAP Triennial Conference and Worldwide Meeting of the Young Academies.
The theme of the meeting will be, “Inclusive Excellence: Harnessing knowledge for sustainable societies”.
The meeting is hosted by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) and co-organised by IAP, the Global Young Academy, NAS, RSC, the RSC College, and the NAS New Voices Program.
The meeting will take place 1-3 November 2022, online and at Biosphere2, Arizona, United States, in a hybrid format.
For any further queries about the joint meeting, please contact Anna-Maria at the GYA Office.
****************************
2022 André Mischke Young Academy of Europe Prize for Science and Policy
The Young Academy of Europe (YAE) is currently seeking nominations for the “André Mischke Young Academy of Europe Prize for Science and Policy”. This prize is awarded annually to early- to mid-career professionals in recognition of their outstanding achievements and contributions to key areas of the YAE.
Nominations can come from YAE members and non-members, and should be sent to by 15 April 2022. Nominations should include a short CV and a justification describing key activities and providing evidence of relevant accomplishments for which the candidate is nominated. More information on eligibility, general award criteria and the nominations process is available here.
****************************
Swiss Young Academy: Virtual exhibition on climate change in the light of human rights
How and to what extent does climate change affect human rights? This question was explored in the scope of the Design Challenge “Sight Unseen: Depicting Climate Change in the Light of Human Rights”, launched by the project group Human Rights of the Swiss Young Academy (SYA). The aim of the Design Challenge was to reflect on the relation between climate change and human rights, to present it in a creative way and thus to promote dialogue between science, politics and society.
The winning artworks can be viewed in a virtual exhibition where visitors can navigate freely and have a closer look.
Visit the Design Challenge here.
Visit the virtual exhibition here.
****************************
German Young Academy suggest improvements to research funding & science advice
Members and alumni of the German Young Academy’s research group on Science Policy have criticised the current system used to allocate research funding and have suggested routes for improvement, in a correspondence piece titled “Why many funding schemes harm rather than support research” in Nature Human Behaviour, released on 31 January 2022. They argue that the “external funding system is an expensive lottery”, and that “many of the current research funding schemes involve a great deal of work on the part of the applicants, who then have a relatively low chance of actually being allocated the funding they have applied for”.
New podcast from German Young Academy
The German Young Academy have also published a new episode of its podcast series (also their first English-language podcast) in which ALLEA President Antonio Loprieno argues that “we should sharpen our voice” as scientists in the public arena.
You can listen to the podcast here.
****************************
INYAS welcomes 22 new members, elects Core Committee
The Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) conducted its 7th General Body Meeting in February 2022.
The online meeting included the publication of their 2022 newsletter reporting on activities in 2021, the inauguration of 22 new members, and the election of its Core Committee (see image above).
Public lectures on “The Killer Defence”, by 1996 Medicine Nobel Laureate Professor Peter C. Doherty, and on “Science, Technology and Innovation for Economic Growth” by Indian Government representative Dr V K Saraswat, as well as an INYAS-organised panel discussion on “Science performance indices: Need, Rationale and Alternatives” completed the meeting days.
Read a complete report here.