ASIAHORCs Meeting Held Along with Joint Symposium

From 1-3 November, the fourth meeting of the Asian Heads of Research Councils (ASIAHORCs) and second ASIAHORCs joint symposium were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both were hosted by the Vice-Chancellors’ Council of National Universities in Malaysia. Initially advocated by JSPS, ASIAHORCs works to promote science and technology within Asia and to develop the region’s young researchers. With the participation of heads of leading science-promotion agencies within the Asian region, these annual meetings have been held since 2007. Starting in 2009, ASIAHORCs joint symposiums on themes decided by the members have been held for the primary purpose of solving common regional issues and creating networks among young researchers across the region.

This year’s ASIAHORCs joint symposium, held over the first two days, was themed “Natural Disaster Management: Lessons Learnt and Shared Best Practices.” It was attended by 65 researchers and specialists on the subject, who were mainly senior and junior researchers selected from the ASIAHORC-member countries. Prof. Norio Okada, director, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, gave the keynote lecture on the challenge of integrated disaster risk management. Afterwards, parallel sessions were held on five topics: earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, floods, and disaster management. In them, disaster-prevention research being carried out and disaster-management systems being established in each country were reported and animated discussions advanced.

Held on the third day, the ASIAHORCs meeting was attended by representatives from science-promotion agencies in Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. At it, a vigorous exchange of views was carried out on the theme “International Collaborative Research.” JSPS president Prof. Motoyuki Ono reported on Japan’s latest science policy trends and JSPS’s international programs. A shared vision by the ASIAHORCs members was devised, a logo selected, and future cooperative activities discussed.

The next ASIAHORCs meeting will be hosted by Indian government’s Department of Science and Technology, and the ASIAHORCs joint symposium, on the theme “ Climate Change,” will be implemented by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Both are scheduled for the fall of 2011.

― Asian Program Division