Mid-term Reviews of the Regional Offices
The Mid-Term Review of the Regional Office for Africa is available in the Member Zone of the ICSU website.
The membership of the Review Panel for the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean has been agreed by ICSU's Committee for Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR).
Background, Terms of Reference and biographies of the panel members
Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean website
The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific will be reviewed in 2010. The Terms of reference for the Review are being developed with the host institution, the Academy Sciences Malaysia (ASM), and will be presented to CSPR for approval in February 2010.
The timetable for the reviews of all three Regional Offices is now available.
Regional Office for Africa
The Regional Office for Africa (ROA) continues to work towards implementing the Science Plans for the four regional priorities—sustainable energy, natural and human-induced hazards and disasters, health and human well-being, and global environmental change (including climate change and adaptation). Sustainable energy projects will be implemented in collaboration with the NEPAD programme of the African Union, and the geo-hazards projects, from the hazards and disasters science plan, will be implemented in line with the UN-proclaimed International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE).
The Regional Office has provided support to local associations bidding to host conferences, by ICSU Scientific Unions, in Africa. The International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX) held the 7th Congress of Toxicology in Developing Countries in South Africa with support from ROA, which included the Regional Office Director serving on the International Advisory Panel. ROA is also assisting ICSU’s Committee on Data for Science and Technology as it prepares for CODATA2010, which will be held in South Africa in October.
The Regional Office participated in the 20th General Meeting–11th General Conference of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), held in Durbin, South Africa in October. A series of symposia examined the state of science and technology in South Africa and the impact of the global financial crisis on investments in science in the developing world. The conference provided an opportunity to strengthen links with the Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAF) who were joint organisers of the event.
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) continues to move forward with the regional priorities—sustainable energy, hazards and disasters, and ecosystem change and society. The priority areas were central to discussions at the eighth meeting of the Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific, held in Japan in November, and the 3rd Regional Consultation, held in Malaysia in October. Recommendations for implementing the Science Plans for each priority area have been identified as well as how to best dovetail with ICSU’s new programmes, Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) and the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS).
The Regional Consultation was launched by the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia, Y. B. Tuan Haji Fadillah Hj Yusof and hosted by the Centre for Global Sustainability Studies of the Universiti Sains Malaysia. The Chair’s summary of the Regional Consultation is available on the ROAP website.
Regional Office for Latin America and the
Caribbean The 7th meeting of the Regional Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean took place in Panama in September. Several alternatives are being pursued to implement the Science Plans of the four regional priorities—sustainable energy, natural disasters, mathematics education and biodiversity. The Regional Committee agreed to network with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB) as part of the implementation process. A formal agreement between ICSU and OAS is being negotiated.
The Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) participated in the 3rd ICSU Regional Consultation for Asia and Pacific, contributing to the dialogue between the three ICSU Regional Offices. Two new members have been appointed to the Regional Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean: Patricio Felmer from Chile and Arturo J. Martinez from Argentina. Three other members were re-appointed for a second term of office.
In September 2002, the 27th ICSU General Assembly decided to establish four ICSU Regional Offices for Developing Countries to replace the ICSU Committee on Science and Technology in Developing Countries (COSTED). The decision was based on recommendations from a review of COSTED.
The ICSU Regional Offices promote the further development and strengthening of science in the context of regional priorities and bring the science of developing countries closer to ICSU.
The offices:
facilitate the participation of scientists from developing countries in the activities of ICSU and its Members, Interdisciplinary Bodies and Joint Initiatives, as well as regional scientific organisations;
support scientific networks in their region; and
ensure that the ICSU strategy and activities are responsive to the needs of developing countries.
Three Regional Offices have been established and are generously supported by host institutions.
Sub-Saharan Africa: established in 2005 and based at the National Research Foundation, Pretoria, South Africa.
Asia and the Pacific: established in 2006 and based at the Malaysian Academy of Sciences, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Latin America and the Caribbean: established in 2007 and based at the Brazilian Academy of Science, Rio de Janeiro Brazil.
Regional Committees
The activities of each office are guided by a regional scientific committee. These Regional Committees are responsible for identifying regional priorities based on the ICSU Strategic Plan 2006-2011. Priority setting involves a consultative process with National Members in the region, Scientific Union Members, as well as Interdisciplinary Bodies and Joint Initiatives. Key partner organisations are also involved in this process.
The Regional Committees are comprised of eminent scientists from the region, who are nominated by ICSU Members in the region and appointed by the Executive Board.
Priorities for each region have been identified by the Regional Committees and are being developed into science plans by the Regional Offices, in consultation with scientists and organisations in the region.
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