The FNR participated in the 4th Annual Global Meeting of the Global Research Council (GRC), held on 26 – 28 May in Tokyo, Japan.
The meeting was hosted jointly by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. The meeting was also supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of South Africa.
Participants included approximately 60 heads of research councils from around the world, as well as high-ranking observers from global science agencies, university associations and research policy organisations.
During the meeting, the participants endorsed a Statement of Principles for Funding Scientific Breakthroughs and a Statement of Approaches: Building Research and Education Capacity. These documents were developed through a global consultative process with five GRC Regional Meetings held around the world. These Regional Meetings included over 100 different research funding and research performing organisations, as well as contributions from other groups and individuals with expertise in the topics.
On 26 May, two public side events were held in conjunction with the GRC Meeting and attracted several hundred interested attendees. A “Global Symposium on Scientific Breakthroughs” was hosted by JSPS, and a “Roundtable on Building Education and Research Capacity in Africa: How to Support Young Researchers for Sustainable Development” was hosted by NRF South Africa and United Nations University (UNU).