South African ICSU Secretariat
The South African ICSU Secretariat serves the South African scientific community and most of the ICSU unions and affiliates to which South Africa adheres. The Secretariat is administered by the NRF as part of its science liaison activities. Its role is to promote and maintain close links between South African scientists and members of the worldwide community of the International Council for Science (ICSU), through the local national committee structure. The structure, policy and procedures of the SA ICSU Secretariat are based on the universal character of science, irrespective of race, gender or creed.
Background
South Africa is a founder member of ICSU which was established in 1931 to promote international scientific activity in the different branches of science and their applications for the benefit of humanity. Since its creation, it has vigorously pursued a policy of non-discrimination, affirming the rights and freedom of scientists throughout the world to engage in international scientific activity without regard to such factors as citizenship, religion, creed, political stance, ethnic origin, race, colour, language, age or gender.
ICSU is a non-government organization with two categories of membership: scientific academies or research councils which are national, multidisciplinary bodies (92 members), and Scientific Unions, which are international, disciplinary organizations (23 members). The complement of these two groups provides a wide spectrum of scientific expertise enabling members to address major international, interdisciplinary issues which none of them could handle alone. In addition, ICSU has 29 Scientific Associates.
The Council seeks to accomplish its role in a number of ways. First, it initiates, designs and coordinates major international interdisciplinary research programmes, such as the International Geophysical Year (1957-58), the International Biological Programme (1964-74), or the more recent International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme: A Study of Global Change (IGBP), which complements the joint WMO/ICSU World Climate Research Programme, and aims to describe and understand the interactive physical, chemical and biological aspects of the total earth system. Second, ICSU creates interdisciplinary bodies which undertake activities and research programmes of interest to several member bodies. Examples of such activities include antarctic, oceanic, space and water research, problems of the environment, genetic experimentation, solar-terrestrial physics and biotechnology.
In addition to these programmes and activities, which seek to break the barriers of specialisation, several bodies set up within ICSU address matters of common concern to all scientists, such as capacity building in science, data, science and technology in developing countries, ethics and freedom in the conduct of science.
The Council also acts as a focus for the exchange of ideas, the communication of scientific information and the development of scientific standards. Scientific conferences, congresses and symposia are organized all round the world - the total in excess of 600 a year, and a wide range of newsletters, handbooks, learned journals and proceedings of meetings are published. ICSU also assists in the creation of international and regional networks of scientists with similar interests. ICSU maintains close working relations with a number of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, in particular with UNESCO, in cooperation with which a number of international programmes have been launched and are being run.
Finally, because ICSU is in contact, through its membership, with hundreds of thousands of scientists worldwide, it is being increasingly called upon to act as the spokesman for the world scientific community and as an adviser in matters ranging from ethics to the environment.
The SA ICSU Secretariat administers South African membership of ICSU and in 1992 the ICSU National Board of SA was appointed to advise the former FRD, as the national adhering organisation to ICSU, on matters pertaining to international cooperation with ICSU and ICSU bodies with the goal of promoting effective South African involvement in the organisations of the ICSU family. South Africa is also a national member, via the NRF, of nineteen of the twenty-three full ICSU Unions, many of which predate the creation of ICSU, as well as of a number of the ICSU Associates. ICSU family general assemblies are held at regular intervals and the South African national delegates appointed to these are full voting members of the assemblies. South African membership of many of the Associates is directly through South African professional societies, without the involvement of the NRF, but the Secretariat endeavours to keep the ICSU National Board informed of this involvement.
At present South Africa participates actively in a number of the ICSU Special or Scientific Committees, the most recent one being the Special Committee for the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP).
ICSU website: www.icsu.org
Activities
The office of the South African ICSU Secretariat provides secretarial services to the ICSU National Board of SA and the SA National Committees of the following ICSU bodies:
Some administrative assistance is provided to the professional societies/committees involved with regard to South African membership of the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS), the International Council on Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) and to the International Association on Water Quality (IAWQ).
The Secretariat also maintains close contact with the Scientific and Special Committees, Associates and Joint Programmes such as the:
Assistance is also given to official South African delegations to General Assemblies of ICSU and the ICSU Unions/Associates. This includes financing, credential letters, compilation of national reports, circulation of documentation as well as coordination of South African delegations where applicable.
Contacts
Ms Busiswa Mnyatheli Tel: +27 12 481 4028 email: busiswa@nrf.ac.za
Fax: +27 12 481 4007 or +27 12 349 1179
SA ICSU Secretariat
National Research Foundation
PO Box 2600
0001 PRETORIA
South Africa
