Santiago de Chile, 21 May 2014 – What is the right balance between exploitation and conservation in extraction-based industries like mining or forestry? How do we most effectively mobilize indigenous knowledge and practices to provide economic opportunities to those who need it most? What is the role of national or international educational systems in creating the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to create social and economic wealth and welfare? These are some of the questions to be explored at the Fourth International Conference for Young Scientists and Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Global Young Academy (GYA) being held between the 21-25 May 2014 in Santiago de Chile, Chile.
The meeting will be hosted by the University of Chile, with sessions also taking place at the NH Ciudad de Santiago and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. The conference is supported by the IAP: the Global Network of Science Academies as well as local donors, namely the Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), Chile; Iniciativa Científica Milenio (ICM), Chile; and the Institute of Complex Engineering Systems (ISCI). The GYA expects to welcome over 100 scientists from across the globe, including some 80 members of the Global Young Academy, a group of Chilean Young Scientists and distinguished speakers and participants, such as Jorge Sequeira (UNESCO), Angélica Bucio (ICSU), Juan Asenjo (Chilean Academy of Sciences) and Jorge Allende (IAP). A meeting of National Young Academies will precede the conference with representatives from around the world.
The theme of the meeting is “Natural Resources in a Finite World”. The conference will explore issues surrounding the sustainable use, management and development of natural resources such as food, water, minerals and energy. Human resources will also feature in the discussions, through considering how cultural resources such as systems of education, libraries, and databases can promote long term innovation and creativity in citizens. “Young researchers are particularly important in discussions on sustainability,” says Rees Kassen, co-chair of the GYA, “they are the ones that will inherit the world passed on by the current generation of leaders and so need to feed their ideas into current discussions.” The conference is expected to produce a major statement on sustainability.
Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook using #gyagm2014.