The General Assembly of the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA) was organized by theIndian Academy of Sciences (INSA) from 13th to 17th October 2014 in at the Indian Science Academy, New Delhi, India. The third summit of South Asian Academies was held in conjunction on October 17, 2014. The AASSA meeting was attended by representatives of over 20 countries in Asia, while all the countries of South Asia were represented at the summit. The Academy of Sciences was represented by a delegation of three members consisting of its President, Secretary and Professor Gamini Seneviratne, Fellow of the Academy. The Expert meeting of the Special Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) of AASSA was also held concurrently. A report of the meetings by INSA is available at http://insaindia.org/pdf/Third_Summit_of_South_Asian_Science_Academies_
and_AASSA_General_Assembly.pdf
A South Asian Science Academies’ Seminar on ‘Achieving Sustainable Agriculture through a Biotechnological Revolution’ was held on October 14th of the meeting. It was organized by the UNESCO-Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Gurgaon and INSA. It consisted of an inaugural session followed by 4 more sessions in which representatives from countries presented their work in the field of sustainable agriculture. Each session was followed by a short discussion period during which the panel of speakers were given the opportunity to answer any queries raised by the audience. Prof. GaminiSeneviratne made a presentation on “Are we wrong in the conventional approach to agriculture?” which is available here.
The Korean Academy of Science and Technology-Academy of Sciences Malaysia-INSA-Inter-Academy Panel sponsored International Symposium on ‘SHER Communication in Asia with a Special Focus on Science Festivals’ was organized by AASSA held on October 15thand the morning of the next day. There werefive sessions of presentations from different country representatives who presented details on science festivals, exhibitions and fairs held in their own countries with the aim of enhancing interest in science among the general public and in target groups like school children. President of NASSL, Prof. Vijaya Kumar made a presentation on “Failures of Science Communication: Sri Lankan Chronic Kidney Disease, which is available here.
General Secretary NASSL, Prof. NadiraKarunaweeraas a member of the Special Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) participatedin the meeting chaired by Prof. Do Sun Na (Korea) on October 16th. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the preparation of the project report on ‘Sustainable Development in Asia’ (SDA report) and future directions and topics of WISE. The report of the meeting is given here.
President of NASSL, Prof. Vijaya Kumar represented NASSL at the both the AASSA General Assembly Meeting presided by AASSAPresident Prof. Won-Hoon Park and the Third South Asian Academies (SAA) Assembly Meeting where their business meetings were held. Prof. KishanLalof India was elected President of AASSA at the AASSA General Meeting while a presentation was madeat the SAA meeting on preparations for the 36th International Geological Congress in New Delhi in 2020 co-hosted by Sri Lanka and the steps being taken to ensure the effective participation of all stakeholders in the South Asia region. Further details are available at http://36igc.org/