TWAS meeting ends on a high note

Li Jiao
China correspondent, SciDev.Net

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The TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences) conference finished today, Bai Chunli, its next president and the president of Chinese Academy of Sciences, working hard to make it a success. Bai told me, smiling, that he was very excited about the conference, so he never felt tired.

“I’m satisfied with the conference, because the meeting has completed all the programmes we have arranged for it,” Bai said at the closing ceremony of TWAS 12th today.

Before closing the conference, he expressed his thanks to all the participants and speakers for their participation and contributions.

In particular, he expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government and TWAS Secretariat.  Without their full-support and hard work, the conference would not have been such a big success, he said.

The conference saw TWAS changing its name to The World Academy of Sciences; and pledges of US$1.5 million to TWAS from the Chinese president.

This blog post is part of our TWAS 12th General Meeting blog, which takes place 18 and 21 September 2012, in Tianjin, China. To read news and analysis on South-South cooperation please visit our website.

TWAS and the future of developing world science

Li Jiao
China correspondent, SciDev.Net

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Academician M.H.A. Hassan, the former director of the TWAS, made a speech during the Abdus Salam Medal Lecture yesterday that delegates are still talking about.

Hassan spoke about TWAS and the future of science in the developing world, and said that the organisation’s strategic aims should be promoting international co-operation and global partnerships.

He took session participants through TWAS’s major events from 1983-2012, its strategic aims and programmes; its future directions; and its global challenges.

Some of the organisation’s achievements include rewarding outstanding scientists in developing countries; supporting young scientists and research groups in S&T-lagging countries; promoting South-South exchanges and postgraduate education; and promoting information dissemination and the exchange of best practices.

Currently, the organisation has 1,028 members from 91 countries. Promoting the pursuit of scientific excellence and fostering the next generation of leaders in STI in developing countries has been at the core of TWAS operation for the past three decades, Hassan said.

This blog post is part of our TWAS 12th General Meeting blog, which takes place 18 and 21 September 2012, in Tianjin, China. To read news and analysis on South-South cooperation please visit our website.

TWAS changes its name, again

Li Jiao
China correspondent, SciDev.Net

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During breakfast this morning, it was announced that TWAS — which was originally known as the Third World Academy of Sciences and changed its name to the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World in 2004 — will henceforth been known as The World Academy of Sciences.

“All members of TWAS support the new change,” said Zhang Kan, former director of the Institute of Psychology, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), who attended a closed session at the TWAS conference yesterday.

He added that, in addition to supporting the change of name, TWAS members were eager to discuss the implications of the change. For example, Zhang said that the new name now means that TWAS welcomes members from developed countries.

TWAS fellows at the meeting in Tianjin (Credit:TWAS)

Currently, there are just over 1,000 TWAS members, 85 per cent of them from developing countries (developed country scientists may join as ‘associate fellows’) and Zhang expects this figure to rise as members from developed countries start joining.

“Global collaboration is very important for scientific research,” he said.

He gave the example of the Jiaolong, China’s manned deep-diving submersible. The vessel is the world’s first manned vehicle designed to reach a depth of 7,000 metres below sea level. It can be used in 99.8 per cent of the world’s seas. ” There are many other such examples, which show that research in developing countries is of an excellent standard,” he said.

Mohammed Hassan, the former director of TWAS, said that the strategic aims of the organisation should include promoting international cooperation and global partnerships.

Hu Jintao, the President of China, pledged US$1.5 million to TWAS to further boost scientific research in developing countries during yesterday’s keynote speech.

This blog post is part of our TWAS 12th General Meeting blog, which takes place 18 and 21 September 2012, in Tianjin, China. To read news and analysis on South-South cooperation please visit our website.

China sets its eyes on lunar exploration

Li Jiao
China correspondent, SciDev.Net

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A session this morning on ‘Advances in China’s Lunar Exploration’ was introduced by China’s chief lunar exploration scientist and pioneer in astro-chemistry, Ouyang Zi-Yuan, also known as the ‘Father of Chang’E’ (Chinese unmanned lunar probe).

I have interviewed him many times in the past decade and found him to be a very nice, patient scientist. At the meeting he introduced the long-term plans for China’s lunar mission, Chang’E-1 and its scientific results, and Chang’E-2.

He also talked about some of the science behind China’s future lunar exploration.

Ouyang said that China’s unmanned lunar exploration programme has three steps: orbiting the moon (which took place in 2007); soft-landing on the moon (planned to take place between 2010 and 2013); and a mission to bring back samples from the Moon (planned for some time between 2015 and 2017).

Chang’e-2 (Wikimedia Commons/spacebabe)

Chang’E-1, the lunar orbiter mission, was successfully launched as scheduled on October 24, 2007. Its main objective was to detect and study scientific questions relating to the whole moon. It carried out topographical studies of the entire lunar surface. These led to the production of a three-dimensional map of lunar resources; the analysis of the distribution and abundance of major elements and minerals on the lunar surface; a survey of the moon’s ‘brightness temperature’ and other properties and a calculation of the thickness of the lunar regolith (material covering solid rock). The mission also probed the space environment around the moon.

Ouyang said that after launch, the Chang’E-1 orbiter took 13 days and 14 hours to complete its mission, clocking up a total flight distance of 2,090,000 km.

China’s lunar exploration in coming years will start around 2013 with the Chang’E-3, which will be a landing and roving exploration mission.

Ouyang said that the implementation of lunar orbiting, the lunar surface landing and rover exploration and the lunar sample return would all help to accumulate experience and to develop new technology for future manned lunar landing and lunar base construction.

This blog post is part of our TWAS 12th General Meeting blog, which takes place 18 and 21 September 2012, in Tianjin, China. To read news and analysis on South-South cooperation please visit our website.

Science for future economic development

Li Jiao
China correspondent, SciDev.Net

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“The world is likely to be increasingly inflicted with poverty, hunger, disease, conflicts, violence, and economic uncertainty,” Atta-ur-Rahman, former science and technology minister of Pakistan, said in a speech at the TWAS meeting today. “And universities can play a key role in facing these challenges through the application of science, technology and innovation — new technologies.”

Classrooms should be transformed from “teaching”  to “learning” environments — a paradigm shift that has already begun, according to Rahman. “Students will be required to study all aspects of a particular topic before coming to class. They will then have discussion sessions in the class rooms with teachers — a change from ‘teaching to tutoring'”

The universities of tomorrow will be ranked not just on the basis of research and PhD output but also by their contributions to socio-economic development, he said.

“Let us join hands and work together to improve educational standards.”

While this provides great opportunity, it also poses challenges, particularly around quality, access and relevance.

“In this fast changing world, developing countries need to invest in science, technology and innovation in order to rid themselves of poverty and hunger and stand with dignity in the comity of nations,” Rahman told SciDev.Net.

Through harnessing scientific research one can increase the yields of agricultural crops and make them resistant to disease. It is also possible to use deserts for growing certain crops as fodder for animals, he said. “So in order to get rid of poverty and hunger the developing countries must invest in education and in innovation/entrepreneurship.”

“In order to promote innovation we must train our students to think in a problem-solving manner, and link research with industrial and agricultural development. For this it is important to establish technology parks, have venture capital funds and promote private sector research and development. It is only through such measures that the process of socio-economic development can be promoted,” Rahman said.

This blog post is part of our TWAS 12th General Meeting blog, which takes place between 18 and 21 September 2012, in Tianjin, China. To read news and analysis on South-South cooperation please visit our website.

President Hu Jintao makes surprise visit to TWAS meeting

Li Jiao
China correspondent, SciDev.Net

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The Chinese president, Hu Jintao, surprised attendees with an appearance at the opening ceremony of the conference this afternoon in the Tianjin Great Hall. He presented several TWAS prizes to scientists from the developing world, including the TWAS Regional Prizes in Building Scientific Institutions; the Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize; and first ever TWAS-Celso Furtado Prize in Social Sciences.

Hu told the meeting that “China will help developing countries build science research equipment and technology demonstration platform”.

One of the winners, Jason Yi-Bing Lin, senior vice-president of National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan told me: “I’m inspired by the President of China, Hu, presenting me [with my certificate] and I’ll continue to work hard”. He said that the TWAS 23rd General Meeting has been very inspiring so far, and will help promote the cooperation of scientists from different developing countries.

TWAS meeting (Credit: Li Jiao)

Another winner, Valakunja Nagaraja — from the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore — said he was surprised to accept his certificate from the president and shake hands with him. “I was very excited,” he said.

Samar Hasnain from Pakistan, who has been a member of TWAS for almost twenty years, said the fact that “Hu attended the meeting seems [to imply that the] Chinese government pays great attention to developing countries’ cooperation and especially pays great attention to science research”.

This blog post is part of our TWAS 12th General Meeting blog, which takes place 18 and 21 September 2012, in Tianjin, China. To read news and analysis on South-South cooperation please visit our website.

TWAS elects new president

Li Jiao
China correspondent, SciDev.Net

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Bai Chunli, the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was elected today as the next president of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) and will take up his position in January 2013.

Bai is a well-known chemist and leading nanoscientist, and was appointed executive vice-president of CAS in 2004. He has also served as Vice-President of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), president of the Graduate University of CAS (GUCAS), director of the Academic Division of Chemistry, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Presidium of the Academic Divisions of CAS.

Bai Chunli (Credit:TWAS)

Academicians from more than seventy countries gathered today at the TWAS meeting, and many were excited to be here.  Atta-ur-Rahman, former science and technology minister of Pakistan, told me during a break that “this conference brings together the leading scientists from developing countries and opens opportunities for cooperation amongst them. It also allowed them to learn from others’ experiences.”

On a personal note, I felt very embarrassed today. It turns out that I am not actually allowed to attend the closed sessions at the conference. But that won’t stop me reporting from the public parts of this meeting, so keep reading!

This blog post is part of our TWAS 12th General Meeting blog, which takes place 18 and 21 September 2012, in Tianjin, China. To read news and analysis on South-South cooperation please visit our website.

Will the president of Chinese Academy of Science become the next president of TWAS?

Li Jiao
China correspondent, SciDev.Net

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Welcome to my blog from the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World’s (TWAS) 12th General Conference and 23rd General meeting, taking place in Tianjin, China, this week!

Academicians discussed who will be next president of TWAS during today’s dinner, and Li Desheng — a 90-year-old member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and TWAS — told me he believes that Bai Chunli, president of CAS, will be the next TWAS president.

Many Chinese members agree. Tomorrow morning the result will be announced.

I’m very lucky to be allowed attend the sessions ‘shaded in dark’ on the programme — closed sessions for members only — tomorrow morning because I was selected as a member of TWAS.

Tianjin, China (Credit: Flickr/~MVI~ sleepless in bangkok)

So tomorrow I’ll let you know who the next president will be, and well as information from the closed sessions, including the speech named ‘Science, technology and innovation for sustainable socio-economic development’ by Atta-ur-Rahman, former Pakistan minister for science and technology, and ‘Science for development’ by S. Ting.

I will be filing several reports each day on this blog.

The conference looks so interesting! I’ll keep you updated.

This blog post is part of our TWAS 12th General Meeting blog, which takes place 18 and 21 September 2012, in Tianjin, China. To read news and analysis on South-South cooperation please visit our website.

How to make money from oil … without extracting it

Daniela Hirschfeld
Freelance journalist from Uruguay, SciDev.Net

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Like a celebrity — arriving at what until then was just another low-profile Rio+20 side event— Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa entered the packed room and tens of photographers shot pictures and the public applauded.

The Yasuni – ITT: Changing Paradigms for a Sustainable Future, hosted by Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador. Flickr/ UN Women Gallery

Seeing people with Panama hats, some with indigenous ornamental feathers and others chatting very excitedly in Spanish, made it easy to tell that the topic of this session had something to do with Latin America.

The session ‘Yasuní initiative: changing paradigms for a sustainable future’ had one of the most high-level panels, and people responded.

Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president and UN Women executive director; Helen Clark, former New Zeland prime minister and current head of the UN Deveolpment Program (UNPD); and Vandana Shiva, environmental activist, scientist and Alternative Nobel Prize recipient, were some of the international leaders that accompanied Correa, who was wearing his traditional formal clothes: a suit and a white indigenous embroidered shirt.

After Ivonne Baki, State secretary of Yasuní initiative, made an eloquent introduction, Correa began by reminding how, during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2007, he announced that Ecuador had decided to forego the exploitation of oil in the Yasuní-ITT area, located in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest.

This decision was “a substantial sacrifice for a small developing country whose economy still depends on petroleum, choosing to put social and environmental values first, while exploring other ways to benefit the country economically”.

By leaving the estimated 846 million barrels of oil “indefinitely” underground, Correa said his people were contributing to combating global warming by avoiding the emission of approximately 407 million tons of CO2, that in present oil prices worth US$14 billion.

The 982.000 ha Yasuní National Park is one of the five biodiversity hotspots on the planet, with around 100.000 species per hectare: 2.274 types of trees and bushes, 169 of mammals, 141 of amphibans and 121 reptiles. It is also home to two indigenous cultures —the Tagaeri and the Taromenane— living in voluntary isolation.

But Ecuador can’t afford losing so much money, even in order to preserve nature. So in exchange, Ecuador decided to seek financial contribution of the international community as a gesture of co-responsibility in the fight for climate change.

The Yasuní-ITT Trust Fund, administrated by the UNDP, was established in 2010 to raise US$3.6 billion in contributions, which will be used to finance renewable energy projects.

“This is the most concrete initiative in this conference to save the planet. It means moving from rethoric to facts”, said Correa.
Ute Coczy, member of the German Parliament and part of the German official delegation supporting the initiative, agreed with Correa: “[The Yasuní initiative] is still a very unique one, but it gives me more hope than all the other papers and proposals that are being discussed at Rio+20”.

For her, now the question is: “Is the world really ready for this initiative?”.

With an engaging speech, Shiva also applauded Ecuador, saying that “it is first country to have the courage and the imagination to protect the Earth and Human Rights”.

And she concluded: “Good ideas are coming from small countries. Smallness is the promise of the future, smallness can multiply”.
At the end of the session, the Yasuní initiative signed an agreement with the Regional Government of Wallonia, Belgium, that donated US$1.5 million to the Trust.

And after this, Correa and the panelists left the room like celebrities followed by the flashes from the cameras.

This blog post is part of our coverage of Rio+20: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. To read news and analysis on Science at Rio+20 please visit our website.

Arnold Schwarzenegger stood me up

Mićo Tatalović
Deputy news editor, SciDev.Net

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The last few days have been a far cry from the sunny Rio of the last week; our punctual driver’s impeccable scheduling; and relaxed conference sessions.

The other day, our car broke down as we were stuck in heavy traffic and we had to walk a mile to the conference as VIPs were fast-tracked to the first day of Rio+20 summit. It felt like a war zone with heavily armed police-and army-personnel summoned to protect the heads of state. Yet the worst danger seemed to have been the Vegans for Peace protesters who gave out free breakfast and lunch outside the conference centre (which I somehow managed to miss).

But all that was easy to endure because I had plans to see Arnold Schwarzzeneger in the evening. The appointment was for 8pm at the Copacabana Palace, where he was to launch an online database of 100 chosen and scalable innovations for sustainable development – the Sustainia100.

So interesting was the prospect that I decided to pull out of a dinner I organised for fellow journalists.

Yet just an hour before the event I got an email: “Tonight the Sustainia100 is launched at a fully booked event. Unfortunately without attendance of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has cancelled his participation in Rio+20.”

I returned to dinner where I was teased: Arnie had stood me up.

Although perhaps I would have understood Sustainia a bit better if I’d went along to the launch.

Sustainia says its solutions, coming from 56 countries represent sustainable innovation in areas such as city planning, energy, fashion, water and waste management, high-tech and transportation.

“Sustainia is a new approach to a way how we communicate about sustainability,” says its executive director, Laura Storm.

But for a communication tool, they don’t seem to communicate very well: it is pretty hard to pin down exactly what Sustainia is, what it does, or what exactly these 100 solutions are and how they can be scaled up. Maybe I am missing something – but feel free to have a browse around their website and leave comments below if you manage to figure out what this of solution actually is.

You leave comments and I’ll be back.

Video:

This blog post is part of our coverage of Rio+20: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. To read news and analysis on Science at Rio+20 please visit our website.