Here you can explore an overview of past meetings before 2020 that the GYA has participated in or helped organise for young academies. This collection showcases the many events, collaborations and initiatives that have supported young academies over the years.
To learn more, contact Anna-Maria at the GYA Office.
4th Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies 2019 – “Young Academies for Promoting Peaceful and Inclusive Societies”
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The 4th Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies (WWMYA) took place from 31 July – 2 August 2019 in Da Nang, Vietnam, hosted by the Vietnam Young Academy (VYA) and co-organised by the Global Young Academy (GYA). The meeting was kindly hosted at Duy Tan University, who were also supporting the organisation of this meeting.
Theme: Young Academies for Promoting Peaceful and Inclusive Societies
Programme
The 2019 WWMYA brought together representatives from existing and from newly-establishing young academies from all over the globe (see here for a current list of young academies). It offered a great opportunity for young academy representatives to exchange experiences, discuss successful young academy activities and develop common positions and best practices for cooperation both on a global and on regional levels. In doing so, the meeting succeeded in carrying forward the outcomes from the previous WWMYAs in the Netherlands (2012), Sweden (2015) and South Africa in particular (2017) (see here for the 2017 WWMYA Report).
Da Nang Statement (2 August 2019): LINK
News release (30 July 2019): LINK
Programme: LINK
WWMYA briefing note: LINK
Pre-Conference: The WWMYA was preceded by the 2-day VYA Maiden Conference on “Nanomaterials for Healthcare”, from 29-31 July 2019. Details on the Conference website here.
Contact
For any queries regarding the 4th Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies 2019, please contact Anna-Maria Gramatté at the GYA Office.
Programme Organising Committee
The Programme Organising Committee included representatives from the VYA, the GYA and the following young academies: Cameroon Academy of Young Scientists, Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, Indian National Young Academy of Science, Young Academy of Japan, Dutch Young Academy, Nigerian Young Academy, Sri Lanka Academy of Young Scientists, Thai Young Scientists Academy; as well as the young academy initiatives from Bangladesh, Hungary and Nepal.
Local Organising Committee
The Local Organising Committee included representatives from the VYA and Duy Tan University, as well as from the GYA.
Partners / Funders
The Meeting was kindly supported by the following organisations:
- Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam
- German Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF)
- National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED), Vietnam
- Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET)
- Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City
- Korea-Vietnam Friendship Information Technology College, Da Nang, Vietnam
- InterAcademy Partnership (IAP for Policy)
- International Science Council (ISC)
- National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand
- Office of Naval Research US
- University of St Andrews (UK)
- Africa Oxford Initiative (UK)
Pictured: Representatives of the VYA, GYA and a number of National Young Academies in Da Nang, Vietnam in 2019
Photo: GYA
European Young Academies meeting, May 2019, Helsinki, Finland
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Young Academies from all over Europe met in Helsinki, Finland, on 17-18 May 2019. The meeting, organised by the Young Academy Finland, brought together more than 25 participants representing 16 young academies and academy initiatives. The GYA was represented by its Co-Chair Connie Nshemereirwe (Uganda), members Gergely Toldi (for the Hungarian Young Academy) and Udi Sommer (for the Israel Young Academy), as well as GYA Project Officer Anna-Maria Gramatté.
Participants continued discussions from last year’s meeting in Amsterdam, looked into young academies’ best practices, and discussed current developments around Plan S.
The latest additions to the young academies network – the Hungarian Young Academy and the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences – were also represented at the meeting. Representatives from the young academy initiatives from Switzerland and the UK also attended to learn about existing young academy models and structures, areas of young academy engagement and possible cooperation.
Päivi Tikka, Secretary General of the Council of Finnish Academies, gave a short introduction to the science advice activities of the Finnish Academies, as part of a panel on “Young Academies as knowledge brokers on the EU science-policy interface”.
This was followed by a panel discussion on open and responsible science and what kind of role they play in young researchers’ careers. How can early-career researchers organise themselves as scientists in a new paradigm landscape? David Budtz Pedersen from the Humanomics Research Centre at Aalborg University, Denmark, provided some insights from his research into the science of science-for-policy advice, and emphasised that rewards and incentives needed to be in place for scientists to engage in open science and science advice activities.
A World Café session saw a lively exchange of best practices in the fields of capacity-building & training for young academy members; equality; science education & outreach activities; at-risk scholars initiatives by young academies; arts & interdisciplinarity; and science policy.
A discussion of future collaboration and joint projects was also part of the meeting:
- the Young Academy Finland will run a project on young researchers as knowledge brokers to build the capacity of early-career researchers to engage in science advice, but also to establish more effective and open channels between science and society, as well as to increase the collaboration between Young Academies in Europe.
- the German Young Academy is developing a science outreach project for academy members to go to unexpected places and talk about science to the public. They will invite young academies globally to join them.
- the GYA is currently coordinating the drafting of a joint young academy statement on the core principles and roles of young academies, which will be published later in 2019.
The European Young Academies will meet again in Berlin, Germany, in 2020.
Pictured: Representatives of the GYA and a number of National Young Academies in Helsinki 2019
Photo: GYA
European Young Academies Meeting, March 2018, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Young Academies from all over Europe met in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 23-24 March 2018. The meeting, organised by the Dutch Young Academy, was the group’s largest gathering so far with more than 35 participants representing 17 young academies and academy initiatives. The GYA was represented by its Co-Chair Moritz Riede (UK), as well as members Eva Alisic (Australia) and Gergely Toldi (Hungary), and alumnus Marc Creus (Switzerland).
José van Dijck, President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), welcomed the participants to the meeting and labelled young academies of sciences “a brilliant idea” as their presence would keep members of senior science academies attuned to new perspectives.
Presentations by each young academy highlighted their latest activities, flagged up common issues of concern and discussed future inter-academy collaboration projects. It became apparent that a number of academies are engaged in activities in similar fields, e.g. at-risk-scholar initiatives, open science, the current state and career prospects of young scientists, engagement with the media or politics, science outreach activities to popularise science among school kids and the wider public, and concern over increasing challenges to academic freedom. Based on the projects presented, further possibilities for inter-academy collaboration were discussed.
A panel discussion on how young academies can work together in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was also part of the meeting. Eva, who is a co-chair of the InterAcademy Partnership SDG project “Improving Scientific Input to Global Policymaking: Strategies for Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals” emphasised the great role that young academies can play as instigators and stimulators of science in national and regional arenas. As inherently interdisciplinary organisations they should also act to solve the knowledge questions inherent in the SDGs. She was joined on the panel by Professor Jeroen van den Hoven, Delft University, and Hugo von Meijenfeldt, SDG Coordinator for the Dutch Government.
The latest additions to the young academies network – the Albanian Young Academy, the Estonian Young Academy and the Young Academy Finland – were also represented at the meeting. Representatives from the young academy initiatives from Hungary and Switzerland also attended to learn about funding models, election processes, and possible cooperation.
Pictured: Representatives of the GYA and a number of National Young Academies in Amsterdam 2018
Photo: GYA
Asian Young Academies Meeting in Jerusalem on 11-12 February 2018
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The Israel Young Academy hosted the Asian Young Academies Meeting in Jerusalem on 11-12 February 2018 with the theme: “Science and Society: Challenges and Prospects”. Representatives from both the GYA and from a number of National Young Academies participated.
As can be expected from the theme, the discussions centred around the role of young scientists in general, and national young academies in particular, in impacting the wider public through science. In her address to the meeting on the second day, the President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Professor Nili Cohen, reminded those present that there was plenty of potential for impact through partnering with the Senior Academies, whose wider networks can be of benefit to the young academies.
Moreover, presentations showcased the many ways in which individuals and research groups can contribute to the greater understanding of the challenges faced by our societies; these ranged from mobilising local communities to address the lack of safe drinking water in West Africa using ancient technologies, to cutting-edge research into the promise of genetic science in finding effective remedies for schizophrenia and other such genetic conditions.
Participants from the young academies also discussed how they could be more impactful at the level of their National Young Academies. Experiences in the room revealed that the most successful policy interventions at that level targeted the policy arenas with which members were most familiar, and to which they had direct access. One example of this was a survey by the Israel Young Academy looking into the working conditions of early-career researchers, the results of which were shared with university managers in Israel and which resulted in a direct improvement of these conditions. This survey shares some similarities with the GYA’s GloSYS studies, e.g. the GloSYS ASEAN report whose findings continue to be shared with key stakeholders, or the current GloSYS Africa project.
Pictured: Representatives of the GYA and a number of National Young Academies
Photo: GYA
3rd Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies in Johannesburg, South Africa, 19-21 July 2017
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The 3rd Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 19-21 July 2017, hosted by the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) and co-organised by the Global Young Academy (GYA).
The meeting was a great opportunity for representatives from NYAs and similar bodies to exchange ideas and expertise, discuss successful Young Academy activities and think about future networking and cooperation both on a global and regional levels. Regional outbreak sessions on specific issues also formed part of the meeting.
Since the 1st Worldwide Meeting in Amsterdam in 2012 and the 2nd Meeting in Stockholm in 2015, the international movement of Young Academies (YAs) has grown extensively with many new YAs established. See the map on the GYA website here.
Moreover, SAYAS in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), the World Academy of Sciences Regional Office of sub-Saharan Africa (TWAS-ROSSA), the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World -South Africa Chapter (OWSD-SANC), and the National Research Foundation (NRF) also hosted their annual Young Scientists Conference on “Young Scientists’ Role in Science Advice” on 19 July as part of the Worldwide Meeting.
A statement on “The role of young academies in achieving the UN SDGs” resulted from the meeting and can be found here.
GYA News Release: Statement (26 October 2017)
A meeting report has been compiled and can be accessed here.
For more information on the meeting and outcomes, see the Meeting Programme, the pre-meeting GYA News Release (19 July 2017), or SAYAS’ Event Website.
Contact
For any queries regarding the 3rd Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies 2017, please contact:
Anna-Maria Gramatté at the GYA Office:
Edith Shikumo at the SAYAS Secretariat:
Partners / Funders
The events were supported by the following organisations:
- Department of Science and Technology (DST), South Africa
- Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
- National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa
- World Academy of Sciences Regional Office of sub-Saharan Africa (TWAS-ROSSA)
- Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World, South Africa Chapter (OWSD-SANC)
- InterAcademy Partnership
- IAP for Health
- German Federal Ministry of Education & Research
- Volkswagen Foundation
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
- International Council for Science, Regional Office for Africa (ICSU-ROA)
- New Zealand High Commission, South Africa
Pictured: Participants of the 3rd Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies
Photo: Assaf
Second Africa Young Academies Regional Conference, Mauritius, 24-26 October 2016
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The 2nd Africa Young Academies Regional Conference entitled “Empowering the Next Generation of Scientists in Africa” took place from 24-26 October 2016 in Mauritius. It brought together representatives from all existing National Young Academies (NYAs) in Africa, as well as NYA Initiatives and young scientists from the other countries in the NASAC network together with the NASAC member academies. The meeting was organised by the Global Young Academy with support from the University of Mauritius and The Mauritius Academy of Science and Technology with funding by the Robert Bosch Foundation.
The conference purported to generate the momentum, relationships and networks necessary to stimulate the formation of as many NYAs in Africa over the next few years as possible, in addition to discussing the effective contribution of NYAs to African development. The main objective of this Second African Regional Young Academies Conference was to engage and empower excellent young researchers from across Africa to address the challenges that impede scientific development towards a sustainable future for the region.
Pictured: Representatives of African National Young Academies at the 2nd Africa Young Academies Regional Conference.
Photo: GYA
Second World-Wide Meeting of Young Academies, Stockholm, Sweden, 16-18 November 2015
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Co-organised by the Global Young Academy and the Young Academy of Sweden, the Second Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies was a great chance to meet and exchange experience and discuss successful Young Academy activities. The representatives of participating National Young Academies discussed and planned future networking and cooperation both on a global and regional level.
Moreover the programme included a joint conference with the European Commission’s in-house science service, Joint Research Centre (JRC) on 17 November 2015, where the participants discussed the opportunities and threats of the outcomes of the “UN Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda” (September 2015, New York) and more particularly the role of science for their implementation with high level representatives of the EU and other international organisations.
The event was supported by the European Commission’s Research Centre (JRC).
Pictured: Group Picture in Stockholm.
Photo: Young Academy of Sweden
Regional Meeting of Asian Young Scientists, Tokyo, Japan, 13-14 February 2014
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The 1st Regional Meeting of Asian Young Scientists, co-organised by the Science Council of Japan (SCJ) and the Young Academy of Japan, took place in Tokyo, Japan. The main goal of the meeting was to create a unique opportunity for exchanging ideas, networking and developing purposeful and focused visions among top-notch scientists from Asian nations. The two-day programme included rich discussions on various challenging topics encountered by Asian scientists. The meeting brought together 21 young scientists from 12 Asian countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Japan.
Pictured: Participants of the 1st Regional Meeting of Asian Young Scientist in Tokyo, Japan.
Photo: GYA
Africa Young Academies Regional Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, 3-5 February 2014
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The conference on “Accelerating science for development in Africa by increasing the momentum and impact of National Young Academies” was organised by the Global Young Academy (GYA) in cooperation with the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC). It brought together representatives from the NASAC member academies with all existing National Young Academies (NYAs) in Africa, as well as representatives from NYA initiatives and other young scientists from the countries in the NASAC network.
The main objective of the first African Regional Young Academies Conference was to engage and empower excellent young researchers from across Africa to address the challenges that impede scientific development towards a sustainable future for the region. The participants developed a roadmap to promote the formation of further NYAs in Africa as well as for the network between existing NYAs in Africa. Moreover, they discussed the role of young scientists and young academies for the capacity building and science-policy dialogue in Africa. The Kenya National Young Academy of Sciences (KNYAS) was officially launched during the opening ceremony of the conference.
The conference was funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation. It is planned to continue biannually.
Pictured: Participants at the Africa Young Academies Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
Photo: GYA.
First World-Wide Meeting of Young Academies, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2012
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In 2012 the GYA co-organised the first world-wide meeting of Young Academies “Shaping the Future of Young Academies” in Amsterdam, Netherlands, together with the Dutch Young Academy. A second world-wide meeting of Young Academies will take place in November 2015.
Photo: GYA