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Welcome to the website created in the run-up to the 30th ICSU General Assembly. Information and documentation relating to the Assembly will be retained here for reference purposes until end 2011. If you have any questions please contact the ICSU Secretariat.

 

Highlights from the 30th General Assembly in Rome

The ICSU membership made a number of important decisions that will influence the directions and conduct of international science for the benefit of society over the next few years.

Two major new international interdisciplinary initiatives were strongly endorsed.  The first of these, the Earth System Sustainability Initiative (Press release) is still in the planning phase and is designed bring together different scientific disciplines and other societal stakeholders to address five Grand Challenges for sustainability, which have been identified through a broad consultation exercise.  One of the unique features of ESSI is that it is being co-designed by an Alliance of scientific organisations, funders and UN policy bodies.  It will build on the strengths of the existing global change programmes that are currently co-sponsored and supported by members of this Alliance.  The main focus will be on mitigation, adaptation and new pathways to sustainable development.  The urgency of the need for new knowledge in this area was reflected in the debate at the Assembly.

The second new initiative relates to urban health and wellbeing (Press release).  The Assembly approved a science plan laying out a new conceptual framework for addressing the complexity of factors that influence health and wellbeing in the urban environment.  Again the initiative aims to bring different disciplines together around common urban problems to generate practical knowledge that can be used by local decision makers.  It was reported at the Assembly that scientists are already actively working on the implementation of this science plan in the Asia and Pacific region.

With regard to the conduct of science, there was an animated debate on the proposed re-wording of the Principle of Universality (ICSU Statute 5), which previously focused on the freedoms or rights of scientists.  The new wording that was endorsed by the Assembly introduces explicit reference to responsibilities with regard to the conduct and communication of science (Press release).  By embracing this change, all the Member organizations of ICSU agree to uphold and promote these responsibilities.

At the end of the Assembly, the new Officers and members of the Executive Board were elected for the next three years.  The President-elect, Professor Gordon McBean from Canada, is an internationally recognized meteorologist and climate change expert (Press release).   In three years' time, he will take over the presidency from Professor Yuan Tseh Lee (Press release), whose inaugural speech in Rome focused on the critical role that science must play in leading the transformation towards sustainable development.

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