Welcome to the July 2016 edition of our newsletter, bringing you highlights from our activities since our last edition in May.
Welcome to the July 2016 edition of our newsletter, bringing you highlights from our activities since our last edition in May.
News
Registrations are open for the ICSU Extraordinary General Assembly and joint ICSU-ISSC General Assembly. ICSU President Gordon McBean has called an extraordinary session of the ICSU General Assembly, to allow members to vote on an issue that is crucial for the future of the organization: Whether or not ICSU should merge with the International Social Science Council (ISSC). This General Assembly will be held in Oslo, Norway, on 24 October 2016, together with an ISSC General Assembly. For more information on the proposed merger, please see also the information in this letter to members, the background motivation and the draft planning framework.
ICSU urges Turkey to restore the Principle of Universality of Science. While it deplores the attempted coup d’état in Turkey on 15 July 2016, it is deeply concerned about developments since then and, particularly, about reports of Turkish academics and educators having lost their positions in a summary fashion in recent days.
Apply now for grants to research the “Energy - Health - Natural Disasters” nexus in African cities. As part of the LIRA2030 programme funded by the Swedish development Agency Sida, ICSU has launched a call for pre-proposals. Together with NASAC and the ISSC, ICSU will support 10 research projects across Africa. These projects are expected to generate new solutions-oriented knowledge that will help develop new urban paradigms in Africa and make African cities more resilient, adaptable and healthier.
A new ICSU paper was published: “A draft framework for understanding SDG interactions”. The framework takes a closer look at trade-offs and synergies for the implementation phase of the SDGs. Since its publication, it has been the subject of a commentary in Natureand an op-ed on the World Economic Forum's Agenda blog.
ICSU participated in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the United Nations in New York. The Council led an 8-person scientific delegation to the event, and was an active participant in several events during the week. It also held a side event presenting the new framework on SDG interactions.
We're part of Habitat X Change this year, a space and an open community at the UN's
