Muscat - The third General Assembly meeting of the International Science Council (ISC) for the year 2025 kicked off in Muscat today.
During the two-day conference, ISC members and partners from around the world discuss strategic issues and devise new visions for scientific cooperation at global level.
The meeting will elaborate the ISC strategic plan 2025-2028 and its related budget, in addition to reviewing new trends in norms for freedom and responsibility in science.
The meeting also debates a renewed scientific agenda, ISC future vision and many critical issues of significance to the future of science systems, including regional propagation through the establishment of new offices, final changes to the amended bylaws and related procedures.
The meeting serves as a milestone, being the first in-person attendance meeting of the ISC after the establishment of the council in July 2018. The first and second meetings were held online.
The meeting’s programme included forums to exchange ideas and discuss common challenges with the Council’s affiliated bodies, regional groups, potential members and young academics.
Through regional meetings and side-events, the conference focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia and the Pacific regions with a view to fostering teamwork and collective planning. The events also included specialized sessions for early and mid-stage researchers, the Fellowship Council members and thematic groups interested in knowledge exchange.
Commenting on the importance of this meeting, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, President of the International Science Council, said, “This year’s meeting is an important step for the International Science Council. In addition to being the first in-person meeting since 2018, the meeting provides an opportunity to discuss key developments that shaped the reality of science and society over the past decade.