TWAS Conference approaches: the final countdown October 13, 2009
Posted by Andrea in : Events, International Relations, Liaison , trackbackPreparations for the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) 11th General Conference to be hosted by ASSAf at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Durban from 19-23 October 2009 are well underway. Over 400 TWAS Fellows and invited guests are scheduled to attend what promises to be a momentous event. The theme for this year’s conference is “Science for Africa’s Development”. TWAS Committees and Council will assemble for two days prior to the start of the conference. Science and Technology (S&T) in South African will be showcased in a symposium comprising invited presentations from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and representatives from the Centres of Excellence in South Africa.
The Minister of S&T, the honourable Naledi Pandor, will participate in a symposium on the “Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Research and Education in Developing Countries” together with her counterpart Ministers from India, Brazil and China.
Other symposia in which South Africa will feature strongly are those on “Astronomy in Developing Countries” and “S&T Education for Development”. The programme features a large number of invited presentations from distinguished scientists such as Michael Atiyah whose lecture is titled “Truth and beauty in mathematics and physics”, as well David Block and Monty Jones. The presence of a large number of eminent scholars in the country has prompted the DST through the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) to mount a “Meet the Scientists” initiative which will connect TWAS fellows with teachers and learners in three KwaZulu-Natal centres in an attempt to promote science and careers in science amongst Grade 11 learners.
ASSAf is proud to be hosting this prestigious conference, which is being held for the first time in South Africa, thanks to the generous support of the DST and the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
TWAS is an autonomous international organisation, founded in 1983 in Trieste, Italy, by a distinguished group of scientists from the South under the leadership of the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan. Its mission is to promote scientific excellence and capacity in the South for the purposes of advancing sustainable development. TWAS operates under the administrative umbrella of UNESCO and receives generous core funding from the Italian government. Presently it has more than 900 members from 100 countries. Nearly 85% of its members live and work in developing countries.
TWAS also hosts and works closely with a number of Trieste-based international organisations that share the Academy’s broad-ranging objectives. These organisations include: Third World Organisation for Women in Science (TWOWS), InterAcademy Panel on International Issues, (IAP), InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP) and the Consortium on Science, Technology and Innovation for the South (COSTIS).
Want to read more?
Check out Daniel Schaffer’s articles on the TWAS website (www.twas.org) on Science and Change in South Africa, and an interview with Minister Pandor on Science.
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