ICSU Scientific Unions Meeting Rome
A two-day ICSU Scientific Unions Meeting was held at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Rome , Italy . A total of 23 out of the 29 Scientific Unions of ICSU were present. A broad range of topics were tabled and discussed. This included ICSU and Union activities on human health, natural and man-made hazards and disasters, sustainable energy, and on environment programmes. A presentation was made of the progress with the implementation of the ICSU Strategic Plan by the ICSU Executive Director, Thomas Rosswall. Also discussed were proposals for the review of the ICSU dues structure, an update of the ICSU grants programme, initiatives to strengthen inter-Union and UNION-ICSU interactions, engaging the Unions in the work of the Regional Offices of ICSU, and on restructuring ICSU's international data systems. Five Unions made presentations. These were on the “dual use” of biological sciences (Angelo Azzi IUBMB), food science initiative (Walter Spiess IUFoST), biology and biodiversity (Motonori Hoshi IUBS), chemistry (Bryan Henry IUPAC) and Astronomy (Ian Corbett IAU). The presentation by the Director of the ICSU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific is available from the Resource Centre.
