New Leadership of the International Science Council

The National Research Foundation (NRF) would like to congratulate a prominent scholar from South Africa who have been elected to the Governing Board of the International Science Council. The general assembly of the ISC is taking place during 11-15 October 2021.

Professor Salim Karim has been elected as the Vice-President Outreach and Engagement.

Professor Karim currently serves as the Director of the DSI/NRF Centre of Excellence (CoE) in HIV Prevention. Since its initiation in 2015, the CoE has had a significant impact on the global HIV response.

Other newly-elected members to the Governing Board from Africa include Prof Walter Oyawa, Director-general and CEO of the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), Kenya.

Prof Daya Reddy has ended an illustrious tenure as the President of the ISC during the current General Assembly. Sir Peter Gluckmann has been confirmed as the new ISC President.

The valuable service of other recognised members of the global science fraternity, and who have served in the governance structures of the ISC, and many of its specialist unions and committees, are also recognised. These include Prof Saths Cooper, who has just stepped down from the Governing Board, and Prof Cheryl de la Rey (now with Canterbury University, and who serves on the Elections Committee).

The International Science Council (ISC) was created in 2018 following a merger of the International Council for Science (founded in 1931) and the International Social Science Council (founded in 1952). The founding General Assembly (GA) of the new Council took place in Paris during 3-5 July 2018.

The NRF and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) serve as the adherence members for South Africa