The Welsh Government has announced the appointment of Professor Peter W Halligan PhD DSc FBPsS FPSI FMedSci FRSB, Chief Executive Learned Society of Wales and Honorary Professor at the School of Psychology Cardiff University, as the new Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales.
The AE Cardiff Hub has overseen the compilation of the Evidence Review Report Food from the Oceans, which examines the question of how the ocean can help satisfy the global demand for food. Handover to the European Commission took place on 29th November, in Brussels. Two European Commissioners, Karmenu Vella (Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) and Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation) were present.
Following public events to promote the SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies) project on ‘Food from the Oceans’ in Bergen and Cardiff earlier in the year, a third public event was hosted in the city of Hamburg, Germany on 5th October.
On 12th October, a largescale international conference in Tallinn, Estonia, focused on the impact and value of European research. The event was organised as part of the Estonian Presidency of the European Council, with Professor Sierd Cloetingh (AE President) and Louise Edwards (AE Cardiff Hub Manager) acting in advisory and editorial roles as members of the Steering Group.
On Friday 13th October, a major symposium examined how global policy challenges are being addressed through evidence-based scientific advice. The event was organised by the SAPEA (Science for Policy by European Academies) consortium, with Academia Europaea Cardiff responsible for shaping the programme.
Hosted at the Estonian Academy of Sciences in Tallinn, it was designed as a complementary event to the international conference, European Research Excellence: Impact and Value for Society, held the previous day. Both took place as part of the programme of the Estonian Presidency of the European Council. Over 30 countries were represented.
Professor Ole Petersen CBE FRS, Vice-President of Academia Europaea and Director of the AE Cardiff Knowledge Hub, has been elected Honorary Member of the German Society for Gastroenterology, Digestive and Metabolic Diseases in recognition of “his ground-breaking work on the function of ion channels in epithelial cells and the role of calcium signal transduction in the exocrine pancreas”. The German Society is the oldest (established 1913) and largest (~6000 Members) Gastroenterological Society in Europe. Ole Petersen received his award at the Society’s 72nd Annual Meeting in Dresden (attended by ~5000 members) last week from its President Professor Markus Lerch MAE. Ole Petersen gave his State-of-the-Art Award Lecture in German, on the subject of the mechanism of alcohol-related pancreatitis.
Members of the Academia Europaea Hubs played an active role at a workshop designed to strengthen relationships between academies, held at the Royal Academy of Engineering, Madrid, on 21st-22nd September. The workshops are an integral part of the SAPEA (Science for Policy by European Academies) project.
Louise Edwards and Esther Dorado-Ladera of the Cardiff Hub facilitated some of the sessions, as well as presenting Academia Europaea to the audience. Dr Ricard Guerrero, the Academic Director of the Barcelona Hub, gave a fascinating talk about its activities.
An identical workshop took place in Bucharest on 16th and 17th November, where Professor Ole Petersen, Academic Director of the Cardiff Hub, and Esther Dorado-Ladera had significant roles, along with Professor Tadeusz Luty, Academic Director of the Wroclaw Hub.
Thousands of people came to Cardiff Bay over three days, 14th to 16th July, to enjoy the annual Cardiff Food and Drink Festival.
Food from the Oceans was the theme of a programme of events hosted at the Norwegian Church. This open and free programme of events was the result of collaboration between the Cardiff and Bergen Hubs, together with SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies). We worked closely with other partners, including the SAM (Science Advice Mechanism) Unit, the Learned Society of Wales, the Hordaland County in Norway and Cardiff University.
The Cardiff Hub organised a programme of public talks on the theme Food from the Oceans, in collaboration with SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies). The programme was hosted at the Norwegian Church on 14th and 15th July and took place alongside the Cardiff International Food and Drink Festival, which attracts around 80,000 people. It also featured a public debate on the theme of Can we get more food from the ocean?
With the world’s human population projected to grow to between 9 and 10 billion by 2050, should we look to the oceans to feed ourselves? This was the theme of a lively public debate held in Cardiff on 15th July, as part of the Food from the Oceans project, coordinated by the Cardiff Hub on behalf of SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies).
