‘Our goal is to better understand the world around and within us’ – Academy attends the 3rd General Assembly of the International Science Council in Muscat, Oman.
The Academy’s international engagements for 2025 is off to a strong start with a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration at the Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue and the 3rd General Assembly of the International Science Council (ISC). Hosted by the Sultanate of Oman and the Oman Ministry of Higher Education, the event took place from 26-30 January.
The Academy has held affiliate membership with the ISC since 2020, with shared motivations for providing evidence-based social policy advice, alongside ISC member colleagues at the Australian Academy of Science. In attendance at this year’s event were Claire Rioult – International Director for the Academy, and Professor Emerita Kathryn Robinson – Academy Fellow. Both Claire and Kathryn participated in the Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue events, and Claire represented the Academy and the Asian Association of Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC) as a voting delegate in the General Assembly.
The Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue agenda presented strong transdisciplinary objectives. These were highlighted throughout, addressing issues at the interface between science and society, policy, and global good. Following the opening address by ISC President Peter Gluckman (quoted in headline), Dr Ruth Morgan’s keynote speech emphasised the need to revisit the ‘social contract for science’ – urging a shift from simply producing knowledge to asking different, more impactful questions. She underscored the difficulty of conducting meaningful transdisciplinary research in a fractured world and called for a balance between valuable, long-term research and society’s growing demand for immediate results.
The Academy’s International Team continues to facilitate international social science research exchange, collaboration and leadership via its support of the Asian Association of Social Science Research Councils (ASSREC), Australia-France Indo-Pacific Studies Program (AFIPS), Australia-France Collaborative Social Science Research Program, and China-Australia Social Science Joint Action Program (CASS).
Academy Fellow Professor Kathryn Robinson speaks at the ISC General Assembly (left).