ISC in Beijing: a new Declaration, a new President and a renewed Board of Directors

Gathered in Beijing at a time of increasing pressure on international science, the ISC community adopted the Beijing Declaration on Science and welcomed both a new President, Professor Robbert Dijkgraaf, and seven new members of its Board of Directors.

Over 1,000 people from over 80 countries and regions gathered in Beijing for the ISC Mid-Term Meeting and Beijing Science Dialogue , held under the theme Science in a Complex World – Science for a Better Future. ISC Members, Fellows and partners from all regions and all fields of science met to discuss how the global scientific community can strengthen international cooperation and respond to common challenges.

The event was organized by the International Council for Science and co-hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Beijing Municipal People’s Government.

The program comprised two segments: the Beijing Scientific Dialogue (October 19-21), open to the wider scientific community, and the ISC Mid-Term Meeting (October 22-23), reserved for ISC members and… Fellows.

Beijing Science Dialogue: Science in a Fragmented World

The Beijing Science Dialogue opened on October 19 with a clear message: the world has never needed global science more to address challenges that no country can solve alone, but geopolitical tensions increasingly threaten the international collaboration on which it depends.

Over the course of three days, the Dialogue offered:

• Pre-event workshops, including on gender equality in scientific organizations, based on the 2026 report Towards Gender Equality in Scientific Organizations and a pre-launch for ISC members of the ISC Report on the Role of Non-Governmental Scientific Organizations in Science Diplomacy.
• Satellite symposia hosted in Beijing, exploring research agendas in depth – from open science, research assessment and publishing to chemistry and new energy and Disaster Risk Reduction .
• Plenary sessions on cross-cutting themes that ISC works on: science as a global public good, responsible artificial intelligence, and public trust in science.

Beijing Declaration on Science

The dialogue concluded on 21 October with the adoption of… The Beijing Declaration on Science: Science in a Complex World, Science for a Better Future It sets out 18 commitments to strengthen international scientific cooperation and shape the future of science beyond 2030.

The commitments address:

• Science as a global public good: reaffirming science as a common endeavor of humanity, the benefits of which should be shared by all.
• Scientific freedom and international collaboration: keeping science open as geopolitics and artificial intelligence reshape research.
• Responsible AI in research: common rules for the use of AI in science, governance of AI based on scientific evidence, involving social sciences from the start, and international cooperation to prevent new digital divides, especially in under-resourced research systems.
• Trust and public engagement: sustained and multidirectional dialogue with the public, including marginalized communities, open communication of uncertainty, and a clear distinction between facts, scientific judgments, and value choices.
• Science in the global sustainability agenda: a stronger role for science in shaping the agenda that will follow the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

ISC members’ mid-term meeting

On October 22 and 23, ISC members and Fellows met for the Interim Membership Meeting. The meeting began with forums for each category of ISC members, followed by plenary sessions on the activities of the Council, progress in implementing the ISC Strategy 2025-2028, and membership-related issues.

Following discussions in their forums, the various constituent groups of the ISC established their priorities for the Council’s work.

• Scientific unions and associations called for more proactive action on mobility and visa barriers that prevent scientists from participating in international meetings and conferences. They also expressed continued support for the work on gender equality in the Standing Committee on Gender Equality in Science (SCGES).
• National and regional members encouraged the ISC to focus on a few clear priorities – foresight, science-policy advice and convening – and to strengthen two-way communication with its members. They proposed regular exchanges between national members, with structured contributions to the Board of Directors, grants for joint projects and stronger inclusion of countries from the Global South, gender equality and indigenous and traditional knowledge.
• Affiliated bodies , whose work is interdisciplinary and focused on global challenges, have sought closer integration with national and regional unions and members. They have also questioned whether the scientific community’s methods and timelines can keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence.
• Early and mid-career researchers called for a research assessment that recognizes collaboration, mentoring, open science and societal contribution, as well as the diversity of career stages in the decision-making process from the beginning.

Changes in ISC leadership

The mid-term meeting of the members also marked a transition in the leadership of the Board. According to the ISC Statute revised in 2024, the terms of the Board of Directors are four years and staggered, with half of the Board rotating every two years.

Robbert Dijkgraaf took over as ISC President in Beijing, succeeding Sir Peter Gluckman, who had led the Council since 2021. A mathematical physicist and former Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands, Dijkgraaf was elected in December 2024 and served as ISC President-elect at the third ISC General Assembly in January 2025.

He will lead the implementation of the ISC Strategy 2025-2028, guided by three priorities:

1. Maintaining science globally by defending academic freedom, strengthening international collaboration, and maintaining dialogue across political divides, while responsibly addressing legitimate security concerns.
2. Mobilizing science for global challenges from climate change and biodiversity loss to global health and emerging technologies.
3. Preparing science for its own future : including the transformations brought about by artificial intelligence.

In his inaugural speech at the conclusion of the Interim Assembly of Members, “Resisting Opposition to Science,” Dijkgraaf also emphasized the importance of integrating science into global politics and building a scientific enterprise that makes room for everyone.

In Beijing, seven new members also joined the ISC Board of Directors : two Vice-Presidents and five Ordinary Members. The new members join the Board of Directors elected in December 2024, who will serve until the CSI General Assembly in 2028. CSI warmly thanks the outgoing Board members for their dedication and service to the Board.

Reflections of the outgoing president

In his final speech as President of the ISC , Sir Peter Gluckman reflected on the Council’s role as the global voice of science – a role that depends on legitimacy and being heard by multilateral bodies, national systems and the scientific community itself. He noted that since 2015 the political context has shifted towards short-term transactional politics, in tension with the long-term collaborative nature of science, and highlighted the progress made in the ISC’s engagement with the UN system, including a renewed and active relationship with UNESCO and discussions on what comes after the SDGs.

The ISC expresses its deep gratitude to Sir Peter Gluckman for his leadership over the past five years and for strengthening the Council’s role as the global voice of science.

ISC thanks CAST, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Beijing Municipal People’s Government for hosting the meeting, as well as all members, Fellows, speakers, and participants for their contributions.

Source: https://ro.council.science/blog/beijing-mmm-recap/