GYA Co-Chair Tolu Oni spoke at a joint meeting of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC), held from 25-26 October 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan. At the joint meeting, the world’s largest science councils voted to merge, to become the International Science Council in 2018.
Tolu was invited to discuss the perspective of the GYA on the proposed merger. She addressed current challenges to the role and responsibilities of science, highlighting dynamic ideas from the younger generation of scientists: “At the GYA, we understand that the next frontiers of discovery, of thought, and of ideas, will be from those who understand the need for collaborations transcending traditional boundaries.”
The speech was supported by GYA members’ responses to an online survey asking for their ideas on the role of science in society, now and in the future. GYA members also provided feedback to questions about the global context of science and what kind of science is urgently needed, as well as what they see as the biggest global priorities and challenges which should be addressed through collaboration.
Following this high-level meeting, Tolu gave a presentation on the GYA at the Academia Sinica and met with GYA members and alumni in Taiwan (see picture below).
