Science Council of Asia to Strengthen Collaboration with Future Earth

The 16^th Annual Conference of the Science Council of Asia (SCA) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 30 May to 1 June 2016. The Conference was titled “Science for the People: Mobilizing Modern Technologies for Sustainable Development in Asia” and included 10 plenary presentations and more than 100 oral presentations on subjects ranging from nanotechnology, urban planning, climate change, health and science communication in a total of 14 separate parallel sessions.

The Conference was graced by the presence of Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickramasinghe. It adopted the “SCA Declaration on Science for the People of Asia,” stating that SCA will further strengthen collaboration with Future Earth in view of the importance of Asia’s contribution to this international initiative and to the pursuit of the global sustainability as was discussed in a session during the Conference. The declaration also emphasized the importance of bilateral and multilateral joint research and promotion of social application of science for global sustainability, while expressing the SCA’s further involvement to encourage action to reduce the adverse effect of climate change and to nurture young scientists and women scientists in the region.

The SCA is an international scientific organization founded in 2000 aiming to provide scientists in all fields, including cultural and social as well as natural sciences and technology, a collaborative platform for promoting scientific exchange and cooperation in Asia. At present it is comprised of 31 academic organizations in Asia and the 16^th Conference was hosted by National Academy of Sciences Sri Lanka.