A Pacific region academy of science has been launched with a promise that science can make the region more prosperous.
The Pacific Academy of Sciences was launched in Samoa at a side event during the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Pacific Islands was the only region in the world without a science academy.
Professor Jemaima Tiatia-Siau, one of the 12 “Foundation Fellows” of the academy and a pro-vice chancellor at the University of Auckland, told Cosmos that: “this is history in the making, the Pacific region until now had yet to establish a community of scientists.
“The opportunity to bring Pacific scholars together to grow the next generation, can only be a very positive development,” Tiatia-Siau says.
According to the International Science Council (ISC) website, the academy will promote “the study and application of the natural and social sciences, the humanities, indigenous knowledge, and technology for the benefit of the Pacific Islands region and beyond”.
President of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), Professor Chennupati Jagadish told Cosmos that “the launch of the Pacific Academy of Sciences marks an important milestone in establishing a regional collaboration in the pursuit of knowledge for a prosperous and thriving Pacific Islands region”.
The science academy follows work in the region to promote Pacific Islands’ science and encourage the training of new scientists, like the establishment of the first Bachelor of Science degree available in the Solomon Islands or the Samoan Scientific Research Organisation which aims to use scientific innovation to grow Samoa’s economy.
Tiatia-Siau says that the academy hopes to “increase visibility of Pacific-led research and showcase the talent across the Pacific region and sciences, and academia.
“Some specific challenges that are unique to the Pacific region, in terms of global challenges like climate change, means there is huge potential for our academics to be impactful,” she says.
The Australian government contributed $10.3 million to the AAS which will host the project from 2023 until 2028.
Jagadish says that the Australian government has “made clear” that the Pacific region is a priority. Last year, Pacific academics met to discuss the formation of the academy, acknowledging that the region was woefully underfunded for science.
“In October 2023, the International Science Council brought together more than 60 Pacific scholars from across the Pacific Island nations, who overwhelmingly agreed to establish a Pacific academy of sciences and humanities,” Jagadish says.
The Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa welcomed the new Academy which will be based in her country, saying: “Now, more than ever before, the Pacific Islands has a mechanism to draw on its rich and unique knowledge of our region and its people to positively influence global decisions”.
Read more about the academy
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