On Thursday 26th October, the joint meeting of the International Social Science Council and the International Council for Science at a joint meeting in Taipei, took the momentous decision to merge into a single dynamic organisation to take science forward in an evolving global context.  

A merger of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC) forges a new organisation – to be known as the International Science Council – to advance the creativity, rigour and relevance of science worldwide. It creates a unified, global voice of science, with a powerful presence in all regions of the world and representation across the natural (including physical, mathematical and life) and social (including behavioural and economic) sciences. 

The importance of scientific understanding to society has never been greater, as humanity grapples with the problems of living sustainably and equitably on planet Earth. The Council will defend the inherent value and values of all science at a time when it has become harder for the scientific voice to be heard. It will strengthen international, interdisciplinary collaboration and support scientists to contribute solutions to complex and pressing matters of global public concern. It will advise decision makers and practitioners on the use of science in achieving ambitious agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015. And it will encourage open public engagement with science.

IGU, which was a founder Union in ICSU and has been a member of ISSC for many decades, hopes that the need to improve science education will also become an important focus for the new organisation.

Mike Meadows, Taipei

October 27th 2017