Maria J. Esteban

The Centre for Science Futures of the International Science Council (ISC) has recently issued an interesting report, Protecting Science in Times of Crisis,  about how to protect science, higher education, research  and scientists in times of crisis (natural disasters, wars, geopolitical conflicts, and so on). The report focuses on how to build resilience for science. 

The analysis of past crises shows that science and scientists usually pay a high price in those situations: scientists lose their jobs or their ability to work, or have simply to leave. Scientific research and higher education...

Information and discussions about the ‘Gender Gap in Science project’ have appeared several times in DIANOIA. This project was mainly funded by ICSU (later to become the ISC (International Science Council)), and some international scientific bodies participating in the project also contributed with some funds, among them, ICIAM.

One of the main achievements of that project was conducting a Global Survey of Scientists to assess various aspects of the gender gap among scientists. Maybe some of you remember having answered the many questions contained in it, since the proportion of applied...

Among the robust technical sessions at the ICIAM 2023 meeting, a two-part session on gender equality was held.  The session, entitled “Gender Equality in Mathematics: A Global Perspective,” featured speakers from across the globe presenting material on the state of gender equality in Mathematics in their countries, continents, and organizations that are addressing challenges related to supporting women in Mathematics.  

The first part of the session started with Prof. Maria J. Esteban (CNRS and University Paris-Dauphine) introducing the Gender Gap in Science Project (GGSP), a recent effort to...

On May 10-12, the midterm meeting of the ISC was held in Paris. The ISC wishes to become "the global voice of science" in the multilateral system. Some 300 delegates from all over the world were present, ICIAM was represented by Maria J. Esteban and Wil Schilders. The ISC has 220 members, of which some 140+ are national academies of science. There is a president (Peter Gluckman), a CEO (Salvatore Aricò), some Officers and an office with almost 25 employees. The ISC is setting up an office in New York close to the UN, and the staff is planned to grow to 40+.

Among the concrete goals presented in...

Comments by D. Armbruster and M.J. Esteban on the quarterly online meeting with the ISC president - 25 janvier 2023

The International Science Council (ISC) is currently going through an intense transformation, trying to define better what the organization is and what it wants to be in the future. In this direction, the ISC Board is having long discussions about strategic priorities. 

The ISC wants to engage with the multilateral system: it has started meetings with the UN secretary’s office, with UN agencies, with UNESCO and with the World Bank. After those conversations, the global system is...

LATEST NEWS AND CALLS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE COUNCIL (ISC)

In this section we will high-light recent events, decisions, calls, and news concerning the International Science Council which the editors of DIANOIA find interesting for its readership.

The World Science Forum was held in early December 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa

On the eve of the Forum, the ISC held the first in a series of Global Knowledge Dialogues, attended by more than 120 Member representatives from 40 countries and from ISC Affiliated Bodies. Participants discussed key issues in governance, capacity strengthening...

On September 20th, the kick-off of the OpenDesk of EU-MATHS-IN took place. The OpenDesk offers any company the possibility of submitting its innovation needs that can be solved by Modelling, Simulation and Optimization technologies in a Data-rich Environment (MSO-DE). It is devoted to coordinating and facilitating the necessary exchanges in the field of application-driven mathematical research and its exploitation for innovations in industry, science and society.

The OpenDesk is a window to connect companies with industrial mathematics, a one-stop-shop for companies looking for advice or help...

One of the main tasks of the  "Gender Gap in Science project, how to measure it, how to reduce it?”, funded mainly by ICSU/ISC and in which several unions members of ISC participated, among them ICIAM, was the construction of an online database of good practices aiming to reduce the gender gap, especially for girls and young women. Initiatives of this kind exist in many countries, as nowadays everybody is looking for ways to increase the number of girls who want to study scientific subjects and young women who embrace scientific careers. But this database does not aim only to address the...

In January, the International Science Council arranged an online session for members of ISC societies to meet the new president, Peter Gluckman. In order to accommodate different time zones, two online meetings took place, one on January 26 in the morning and another one on January 27 in the afternoon.

Both meetings started with a quick 15-20 minutes' presentation by the president, giving his viewpoint about his plans as president, and about what is going on at the moment at ISC. 

He stressed the need to work more closely with members, to organize communication better in both directions, and to...

The aim of this extraordinary GA was to vote on some modifications of the statutes of the ISC as well as the election of the members of the 2021 Elections Committee. Even though the GA extended from the morning of February 1, to 12am on February 5th, the main meeting and discussions took place on the afternoon of February 1st (CET) and on the morning of February 2nd (CET). The rest of the time the ISC members had access to the expo space, various informal meetings, gatherings and discussions and had time to vote until the 5th.

The GA was organized on the platform Hopin which offered a variety...