International Science Council

In 2020, ROAP maintained its priority areas, with the COVID-19 pandemic requiring ROAP to think of more effective ways of engaging its regional members.

Open Science was at the forefront of ROAP’s activities. It worked closely with the UNESCO Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific in Jakarta to contribute towards UNESCO’s regional consultation aimed at building consensus on Open Science. Moving forward, ROAP will continue to collaborate and co-organise activities to support the development of the Recommendation on Open Science.

In addition, together with ASM and MOSTI, ROAP advocated for an Open Science agenda at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). These efforts culminated in APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (APEC PPSTI)’s endorsement of the Open Science Statement. This calls on all APEC economies to support Open Science to promote science-based evidence in the promulgation of domestic policies and enhance collaboration through capacity building and experience sharing.

To address the UN SDGs, ROAP together with MSAF and ASM organised the “TropSc Webinar Series: The Future Belongs to the Tropics” that aimed to highlight sustainability issues in the Tropics.

The first webinar was held in conjunction with the International Youth Day, carrying the theme of “Youth for the Tropics”. The Webinar focused on climate change, harnessing as well as protecting natural resources and the role of social entrepreneurship. ROAP launched the Register of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Social Entrepreneurs that will contribute towards the development of a DRR Social Entrepreneurs Handbook and Roadmap.

ROAP organised an event to celebrate International Coffee Day with the theme “Black Gold of the Tropics”. An international lineup of speakers and a multi-stakeholder panel discussed the way forward to ensure a sustainable global coffee industry.

With the theme of “The Soul of the Cities”, a webinar celebrating World Cities Day was held to explore the diverse elements that make up the soul of cities. The discussion focused on the importance of the arts, culture and the human aspects in constituting the soul of the city.

The final webinar was held in conjunction with International Mountain Day, with the theme “Mountains and Life”. The panellists discussed the value of mountains in the Tropics, including how tropical mountains affect changes in the physical world.

As part of a new impetus, ISC partnered with UNDP to encourage a global conversation on a webinar titled Rethinking Human Development. The resulting ISC Publication was launched during World Science Day for Peace and Development. To catalyse discussion in the region, ROAP brought together contributors to the Publication that highlighted issues pertaining to planetary boundaries and indigenous people. To celebrate the diversity of the region, ROAP organised the same webinar in Bahasa Malaysia. The outcome of the Webinar will be published.