Each year, the Australian Academy of Science contributes to the Science20 (S20) meetings, an engagement group of the G20 Summit, under Brazil’s presidency in 2024.
Dr Surinder Singh, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, represented the Academy at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 12 and 13 March.
The meeting was hosted by the Brazilian Academy of Sciences under the theme, ‘Science for Global Transformation’.
Member academies in attendance provided input into the five meeting sub-topics:
Artificial intelligence: ethics, social impact, regulation and knowledge sharing
Bioeconomy: pushing the world toward a sustainable planet
Energy transition process: renewable energies and social and economic considerations
Health challenges: quality, equity and access
Social justice: promoting inclusion, ending poverty and reducing inequalities.
In the coming months, Academy Fellows and experts will participate in five virtual taskforce discussions to deliberate further on each of the topics, resulting in a joint S20 communique to be presented to G20 leaders in advance of the G20 summit meeting later in the year.
In collaboration with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE), the Australian Academy of Science is proud to deliver the Australian Government’s Global Science and Technology Diplomacy Fund.
The fund aims to grow international collaboration, enhance Australia’s standing as a science and technology leader, and drive innovation and commercialisation in priority areas.
Grants from between A$100,000 and $1,000,000 are available for eligible Australian organisations collaborating on key areas of science and technology with priority partner countries across the Asia-Pacific region.
Find out more about the Global Science and Technology Diplomacy Fund
Nominations and applications are open for the Academy’s 2024 funding awards, including research conferences, research awards and travelling fellowships.
The closing date is 1 June (nominations for honorific awards close 1 May).
This is the first year of nominations for the David Vaux Research Integrity Fellowship. This award recognises individuals, especially early- and mid-career researchers, who have led efforts in their or other institution(s) to foster and promote integrity in science. Along with recognition of their work, the award provides $10,000 to present workshops and lectures in Australia on topics relating to research integrity.
Find out more about the Academy’s awards and funding opportunities
As part of the Academy’s Theo Murphy Initiative, women from Lutruwita / Tasmania and Martuwarra (West Kimberley) came together in Lutruwita to celebrate Australian Aboriginal women’s ways of knowing and healing our waterways.
This February gathering, tunapri luna, commenced with a two-day cultural exchange in Low Head, which was attended by 30 Aboriginal women from Lutruwita and five from Martuwarra.
This was followed by a symposium in Launceston, attended by 80 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women who share an interest in ways of knowing and healing our waterways.
The symposium included films from Lutruwita and the Martuwarra River; keynote talks by Aunty Lola Greeno and Aunty Anne Poelina; a musical performance by Aunty Olive Knight; presentations on restoration projects being undertaken by pakana and truwana rangers; and panel discussions on Aboriginal water sovereignty, cultural engagement, healing and impacts of climate change. Attendees also participated in cultural activities such as shell stringing and making kelp water carriers.
These events were sponsored by the Australian Academy of Science’s Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) with additional support provided by pakana rangers, Tas Farm Innovation Hub, Hydro Tasmania, Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand, GHD, Tas Water and the Derwent Estuary program.
The Academy made the following submissions to government:
Find out more about coming opportunities for scientists:
Keep abreast of the Academy Fellowship in the Fellows update:
If Fellows have been recognised with an award, please let us know via fellowship@science.org.au so we can consider including it in the next update.
This event will focus on the work of Emeritus Professor Dorothy Hill AC CBE FAA FRS, who was the first woman elected to the Australian Academy of Science.
Date: Tuesday 11 June 2024
Time: 5.30pm–6.00pm at the venue for refreshments, followed by the talks 6.00pm–7.00pm AEST
Venue: The Shine Dome Canberra, and online livestream
Cost: $17 to attend in person, free online
More information and registration
Put these dates for Academy events in your calendar – more information to come!
Find out more about upcoming events.
Since the Academy’s creation by Royal Charter in 1954, the first donations received by our Founders assisted towards the foundation of the Endowment Fund – allowing the Academy to establish its independence.
With further support from our Fellows, donors and friends, we have been able to develop and implement a breadth of programs and activities that are now sewn into the fabric of Australian science.
Today, we continue to uphold this legacy and donations play an important role in securing the Academy’s independence, ensuring science informs decisions wherever they are made, nurturing early- and mid-career researchers who are shaping the science sector, and contributing to addressing national and international challenges.
To learn more about giving to the Academy visit our website or contact Kate Groves on (02) 6201 9460 or kate.groves@science.org.au
We hope you will consider supporting the Academy and our vision for excellence in science.
The Honorary editor of the Academy newsletter is Professor Yuri Estrin FAA
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
