Young Academies declare joint principles and issue calls to action

Young Academies of sciences around the globe have developed a declaration on their joint core principles of operation titled the “Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Young Academies”. The signatories feel strongly that they have a key role to play in helping solve global challenges, and aim to help improve the world through scientific discovery.

The Declaration is a direct outcome of the Fourth Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies in July 2019, which was hosted in Da Nang, Vietnam, by the Vietnam Young Academy, and co-organised by the Global Young Academy (GYA).

With the GYA’s support, the network of Young Academies continues to grow, from just a handful in 2014 to currently more than 40 across all global regions. With these increasing numbers, the need for a consensus on the core principles and values that Young Academies hold has become apparent in terms of continuing to build this active and growing community.

Coordinated by the GYA, almost 40 young academies from all over the world have come together in recent months to develop a set of guiding principles that include the following: Excellence; Diversity & Inclusivity; Responsibility; Knowledge-based Evidence; Independence & Transparency; and Integrity.

The Declaration includes a number of calls to action, including one to young scholars worldwide to establish a Young Academy in countries where none exists. Other calls are targeted at existing Young Academies to continue aligning their actions with the newly-codified core principles, and to “Senior” Science Academies to work with and support their Young Academy counterparts.

The Declaration will be launched at the World Science Forum in Budapest, Hungary, on 20 November 2019.

The Declaration is available here: https://globalyoungacademy.net/declaration-young-academies-2019/